Shock Troops
by Traycon 3 and Fishey Me
Summary: This tells the tale of an exVisser destined to go through heck and back before this story even begins. Well, she's gotten to heck, let's see how she gets out of it this time.
1. Default Chapter

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The Beginning to End All Beginnings

Disclaimer: I own all the charactures in this story who aren't from Animorphs. KAA owns them. This is tied in with another story that will show up later. Enjoy!

Hello. My name is Tiamatanara, also known as Tiamate or Tia. I am very _bored._ Nothing is happening around here. I forgot to bring my book to read while I wait for Kornath9473 of the Scornoth Pool to finish, the person I'm stuck with doesn't seem to be able to string two words together without screaming, and I have just gotten punched in the stomach by a Hork-Bajir because I said I was bored. I feel very loved now.

Anyway, as I was saying, I was waiting for Kornath, who is the Yeerk I am stuck with, to finish in the pool so I could go home and ask, actually practically beg, him to read the stupid book. Finally the cage thingy opened and the Hork-Bajir grabbed me and dragged me over to the pool, when suddenly the Andalite bandits came bursting in. The Hork-Bajir that was holding me was thrown into the pool by the giant gorilla. I panicked when it the wall and didn't move, not to mention release its grip on my arms. I suddenly felt the familiar numbness of a Yeerk entering in my ear. 

Do not fight me. I am here to help it said.

How do I know I can trust you, oh Yeerk who is not Kornath?

You must trust me and kick the Hork-Bajir in the stomach.

Uhhh...how? You're a Yeerk, so technically speaking I can't move anything.

I have not taken over your body functions and I will leave once you decide to go to the surface.

Since I had no other choice, and because of that small need to breathe, I followed its advice. I felt it leave when I hit the surface. I swam over to the side and pulled myself out. 

As I was doing this, Visser3 started to morph into a very horrifying creature. I took this as an incentive to leave and, apparently, so did the Andalite bandits because they all bailed toward the giant hole they had created in the wall. Mainly because it was closest and secondly because it seemed like a smart idea at the time, I went after them and bailed through the hole.

I followed them a couple of blocks, but lost them when they turned a corner. So instead of trying to follow them, I sat down on the concrete to catch my breath. After a few minutes, I decided that there was no way I would run into them, or so I thought. I turned a corner, when suddenly an Andalite sprang out from behind a Dumpster, and crashed into me. In a whirl of color I found myself sprawling on the ground with an Andalite tail blade pressed against my throat. "Oh perfect, just what I need, an Andalite standing over me with its blade against my throat. What a great end to a horrible day." I said to my self. "Why me?"

Who are you, Yeerk? And why have you been following us?

"Well, number one I wasn't following you, your hole just seemed like a good hole to escape from, two I'm not a Yeerk and three..." I paused as a police car came whirling around the corner and turn the corner I meant to turn to get to my house. "Why is there a police car at my house. Has my drunken mother disturbed the peace, or has she just gotten herself killed." Just to make sure, I drew my legs up into my stomach and kicked upward, hard. I hit home and the Andalite jumped a couple of inches. I took the distraction to roll over and sprint towards my house.

"Hello officer, nice night for a jog don't ya think?"

"Are you Tiamate Komathera?"

"Yes, why?"

"Your mother has been accused of drunk driving and is no longer seen fit to be your legal guardian. You will be moving to live with your aunt and uncle in Massachusetts. Now if you will please go and get your belongings I will take you to the airport."

"Okay." I said as I headed inside to gather up my belongings. As I was doing this, I found a light blue box sitting on the steps next to a gray box with a shiny red button and a note that said "In case of emergency press this button." Being the idiot that I was, I pressed the button and found myself on a ship with weird aliens and cocoons. I picked up the small blue box, which had apparently been transported, for lack of any other word, with me. 

There was suddenly a loud sound that shook the whole ship and caused a Dracon Beam to come sliding into my path. I scooped it up and pointed it towards the door that had just slid open...

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A/n: Hmmm, what now. Well hope you liked the first chapter. The second chapter is on the way...well once I write it down first. By the way this is written by traycon3 only so if it sucks please don't flame too much. :). Please R/R. Thanks.


	2. They're Here!

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There Here!!!

Hey again. Please don't kill me over the cliffhanger. I just thought it would be fun to write, even though I despise them. :). Please R/R. Enjoy!

Two Andalites stood in the doorway. I assumed that they were guys, The taller of the two took charge of the situation by speaking to one of the aliens standing there. Just to be safe I slipped the blue box thingy in my back pocket.

Why have you brought aboard an alien onto your vessel? He asked.

"It just appeared on our vessel when you attacked us." The alien paused, looking at the, um I think it is called a grater, in his hand. "Though I would be willing to trade it to you for the mere price of one of your Shredders." 

You just said that it appeared on your vessel and now you attempting to trade for it. I do not believe we will trade for it, we will simply take it back to our ship.

I listened intently to what they said before I intervened. I cleared my throat quite loudly and said, "I do not appreciate being called an it and I do not like being talked over as if I was not alive and sentient."

"It is violent, it has a weapon, and we can handle it. If you will release our vessel, we will return it to its rightful home."

At this I fired a shot about two inches to the right of the alien's head, or at least I meant to. Instead I missed and shot about five inches to the left of its neck. Either way I made my point. "Shut-up if you wish to live," I said as I pointed the gun at the Andalite in front of me. "Get against the wall, both of you." I had always wanted to say that and frankly it was kind of fun. Unfortunately I remembered the other Andalite a little too late. I heard the whoosh of its tail before everything went black.

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"Uhhhhhh." I groaned as I sat up and looked around me. I tried to remember why nothing felt right, beyond the fact that this was clearly not my house. I looked around at my surroundings and realized that I felt weird because I had no Yeerk. I sat up to see the Andalite who had hit me in the head. 

Darex, it's awake. It said.

Okay, umm, ask it what it is and what it wants. The Andalite, whom I assumed was Darex, said.

The Andalite turned to look at me. Umm, what are you? 

"A flying monkey," I said sarcastically, "Why?"

We wish to know if you are hostile. 

"Was that a question or a statement?"

A statement. Are you?

"No, not really. And just to set you strait I'm not a flying monkey. I'm a human from the big round blob in space called Earth."

You live on a blob? And I thought you were weird just because you walk on two legs with no tail what so ever.

"No, I don't live on a blob. That was a joke. By the way, name's RB. What's yours?"

I do not think you could pronounce it. It is very complex.

Hey Chrispen, you done asking it the questions? Darex asked.

Um, yes.

Good. It's your turn to fly.

Chrispen groaned, but left. So I began to gather my thoughts about the day. So far I got this:

__

It was seven and my gang and me were gathered around the swings at the private school we were forced to go to. My group of friends consisted of FLOSS, GB, MVL, and me, RB. We were trying to decide what to call the new girl who had transferred from Massachusetts. Everyone here had a nickname that we had given to them after we had called them NG or NB for a week. "I vote we call her GG." I said, or rather Kornath said for me.

"Why, RB?" FLOSS asked. "Because she always has something black on so I think we should dub her GG or Goth Girl. Who agrees?" It was a unanimous vote. The girl came walking up, wearing a camouflage t-shirt and black jeans. "Hello GG. How are you?" I asked "politely." She stared at me for a minute before she realized that I was talking to her. "Fine." She said, "And you, RB?" "Great." She walked off. GG? I like it Root Beer. How ever did you think of such a thing? _Kornath asked me. _None of your BW. And it's RB or Tia to you. _I told him. The bell rang then and we headed inside. _

I sat in class, going over the nicknames of my friends and remembering how they came to be. We called FLOSS, FLOSS because she came in the first day with a piece of floss hanging out of her mouth. We called GB, good boy because he acts like a class clown in class. We called MVL, most valuable looser because when he came here he told us about the fact that when he left his old school, the bullies said they were so sad because they were going to loose their favorite looser. And they call me, RB, root beer because one day I spilled root beer on my shirt during lunch. Isn't life fun. 

The teacher continued to talk and I began to think about the fact that Kornath had to go to the Yeerk Pool right after school and I had left the book sitting on my bathroom sink. Great,_ I muttered,_ just great. Now I have to try and engage my fellow prisoners or my captures in a conversation. There are times that I hate life. _Well the day went on and on and on. Finally school was over and we headed down to the Yeerk Pool. And that is where this whole adventure began. _

The other Andalite came walking in. His eyes narrowed, While my friend may think that you are quite fascinating, I do not. In fact, I do not trust you at all. I believe that you are a Yeerk spy that has been sent to spy on our technology and gather information on our weakest defense points. I assure you, he said, raising his tail blade and putting it against my throat, that you will find none.

"While normally I would be jumping up and down at the fact that you figured it out, today is not your lucky day." I said as I tried to calmly move his tail blade. It didn't work. I tried again. Again it didn't work. I finally gave up and asked, "Can you do me a favor and move your tail. It's a bit uncomfortable to sit here with impending doom pressed against my neck." I was amazed at how calm I sounded, because I didn't feel calm at all. He continued to glare at me, but he removed his tail and I rubbed my neck. "Can you please explain to me why you think that I am a spy for the Yeerks?" I asked. 

I do not believe that an alien as unintelligent as you could show up on a Skirt Na ship by chance. Thus I have concluded that you are a Yeerk and will be treated as such until you have proven that you are not.

"You're gonna keep me locked up in this room thingy for 3 days just so that I can prove to you that I'm not a Yeerk. Honestly, and I thought Andalites were suppose to be intelligent." I said, shifting uncomfortably and remembering that I had stuck the blue box thing in my pocket before that Andalite knocked me out. I pulled it out of my semi wet pants, (thankfully my clothes were mostly dry) and held it up. "Hey mister I'm so high and mighty because I have four legs and I can talk telepathically do you know what this is." 

He looked at it and stared at me in horror. Where did you get this? he demanded.

"Um, well I found it at my house next to a button. I have no idea what it is. Do you?" I asked.

Yes, that is not your concern, but I suspect that if you have know idea what it is then you are not a Yeerk. I am sorry. he said.

"Well if you had met me this morning you would have been correct in your assumption. But that was then and this is now. Falalala life goes on." I said brightly. (A/N I don't own the falala bit.) "Well, what is it?"

This is a blue box. No one has the technology for it except Andalites. I do not understand how you got this. he said with in confused tone.

"Join the club." I muttered and then smiled. "So now that I know you're not a Yeerk and you know to a certain degree that I'm not a Yeerk, care to tell me your name?"

I do not give out my name so easily. he said narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, really Mr. Darex? You don't?" I said grinning even wider.

How did you? Oh, you heard Chrispen say it. He looked annoyed and must have said something to Chrispen because he then smiled with his eyes. Ah and you also seem to give out your name as easily as I do RB.

"Oh, go eat a worm."

A worm?

"Yes, a slimy thin thing found on earth. Or better yet go eat a slug. It'll probably taste just like a Yeerk."

He left and Chrispen came in to announce that we were 2 hours away from Andalidom (Disclaimer: Mine! I made it up because KAA never gave Ax's planet a name.) and then left leaving me to sit there and stare at space for 2 hours. Can you say increased boredom?

Well that's the second chapter. Don't worry the third chapter will pick up some more. Please R/R.


	3. Ooh, Shiney

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Ooh, Shiney!

Disclaimer: For the disclaimers please check the first chapter. Though I will add some things to it. Andalidom, FLOSS, GG, MVL, RB, and GB and any new charactures are mine. Have fun. Oh yes about my little blurb about the new character I was having fun with my computer and couldn't get that off. Please ignore it. :).

I had been staring at the wall for at least three hours when Darex came back and "kindly" informed me that we had arrived on the planet. All right so maybe not three _hours _but it sure felt that long. We have arrived on Andalidom. You are to stay on this ship while I talk to War Prince Arichnor about you. Chrispen will be here to guard you. Do not try and escape.

I smiled and responded, "Wouldn't dream of it." He left and Chrispen came in.

(Please forgive Darex. He is not normally this way, but he is furious because he will most likely be assigned to take you back to your home. Your "blue blob" I believe. Though, may I ask, what is the name of your planet?)

"Earth."

Chrispen went kind of pale. (I have heard a rumor that your planet is the Yeerks' next target. Are you one of them?) He leaned in very closely and hit the point where I couldn't see him very clearly.

"No, not any more. I was a few hours ago. Can I ask you to back up a bit. I can barely see you." He did and asked why I couldn't see him. "I'm far sighted, so I can't see things up close. I have glasses, but I hate them. Almost as much as I hate Kornath."

(Kornath?)

"My old Yeerk."

A door slid open and Chrispen and I turned to see Darex and two other Andalites walk in. The smallest of the trio was talking to the tallest, whom I assumed was the War Prince. (Awe, come on daddy. It's not like I've never seen an alien before, just not one this close. Please, please, please can I see it.) The smallest one gave her dad a look I have pulled on my mom plenty of times, that is when she was sober.

(Liliana, I have told you. You will be allowed to see it. You will have to leave after you see it, but you may see it just the same.) The father of Liliana seemed very exasperated towards his daughter, but hey I would be too if she was my daughter.

She seemed to pout for a second before I cleared my throat. She looked me up and down and finally asked, (Are all of your species so wet and ugly?)

(Sister, I have noticed that the alien does not take kindly to insults.) Darex stared down both his sister and me before we could see what would happen if we got into a verbal argument.

The apparent father of the both of them was looking at me with a look of almost hatred. I wondered why for a minute before I remembered what my rank had been only a few hours ago._ Crap, _I thought to my self, _I can_'_t believe that I forgot that my old rank was Visser 7. How could I have forgotten. Oh wait, I remember, Kornath had just been promoted from Visser 12. Duh. Though why do I have a nagging suspicion about that blue box thingy. How could the Yeerks create another one. Wait a minute. That box isn_'_t a real blue box. It's an abandoned project that the Yeerks cooked up two years ago. Thank you short attention span. _I sighed inwardly and spoke up. "Forgive me for interrupting such a fascinating argument, but I have some news. The blue box thingy is not a real one. It is an abandoned project from two years ago. Also I am not, I repeat not, a Yeerk Controller any more."

The War Prince finally spoke up. (I have very little reason to believe you. This is why I have brought a scanner to tell if you are really a Yeerk)

He did the little scanner thing after making his daughter leave the area and the tests came up negative. Then he informed Darex and Chrispen that they were to take me back to Earth in the same shuttle that they were in now. Talk about caring.

A/N: hehe another cliffy. More fun next chapter. Please R/R.


	4. Uhoh Spagettios

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Uh-oh Spagettioes!

Disclaimer: I do not own that phrase. I own everyone who has been mentioned in this story so far except people like Visser 3 and the Animorphs. Ok. On to the story. Oh wait. To answer a question. Tiamate is now in space, heading towards Earth. She is not in MA.

Darex was furious with his father and fumed about it for over an hour after we left. He also "kindly" told me where I could and couldn't go. The real fun was when I had to ask him where the bathroom was. Finding the toilet was all well and good, but using it was a different story all together. Apparently Andalites have two pipes. One to pee in and one to poop in. Which was which, I didn't know. So I had to ask Darex for help. He looked at me like I was crazy when I asked. You wish to know how to use a toilet? What, do they pee on trees on your planet? 

"Actually, we pee in large cylinder basins that are usually white." Again I got the crazy look, but he was kind enough to explain about the pipes.

A little later on, I was walking towards the small "dome". Translation the large patch of grass with a small stream and a large tree in the center. This was where I was going to sleep since the only quarters that were available had enough room to stand. As I walked, I passed a door that slid open, and I was attacked by the female Andalite, uh Liliare or something (I couldn't remember her name at the time), and a box of Andalite weapons. She stood up, brushing herself off. Where may I find Darex? She asked coolly.

I stared blankly at her and massaged my head. I tried to remember who she was and where Darex was at the same time. Needless to say it didn't work. "Darex? Oh, umm he's on the..." I paused for a minute, trying to remember the name of the place where he was.

Bridge? She asked almost sarcastically. Is that even possible for Andalites?

"Yes, that thing."

Thank you, I suppose. 

"Don't mention it. Really." I muttered that last bit under my breath, hoping she didn't hear it.

She stalked off to the bridge and I went to the dome, still massaging my head. I was so beat that I was asleep even before I hit the ground.

Through the night I had a nightmare about being controlled again, but this time I seemed to have lost the will to fight. I woke up and heard someone screaming. It took two minutes for me to decipher that that person was I. I rubbed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. After a while I finally gave up and got up. I looked around and saw no one so I decided to take a bath. I pulled off my clothes and slid into the stream. I pulled my clothes in with me so I could wash them. After laying them out to dry, I started to try and wash myself. This was rather hard without soap, but at least I wouldn't smell like the Yeerk Pool anymore.

I was washing my hair and had just come up when I noticed a shadow. I looked up to find Darex leering over me, obviously upset about something. It took me another minute to realize that I was naked and he was looking at me. I think I reached a shade of red that doesn't exist on the color spectrum. I grabbed my shirt and yelled at him, "GET OUT! I'M TRYING TO TAKE A BATH HERE!" I pulled myself mostly out of the water, still yelling. I would have found the look on his face hilarious if I weren't so ticked. Let's just say he retraced his steps rather quickly. I got dressed and went out to look for him.

Do you wear artificial skin all the time? He asked.

"Yes. Now what is it you want?"

Why did you not inform me yourself that my sister was on board instead of simply letting her barge onto the bridge in a tantrum? 

"Oh, was that a problem?"

Yes, you should have informed me or Chrispen before letting her speak to me. 

"Hey, she asked for ya."

He seemed annoyed at my response but said nothing. Just then a bunch of lights started flashing and a computer said Warning: Incoming Blade Ship. All personal report to bridge. 

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A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to write. First I had major writer's block and then my computer got attacked by viruses. But please R/R. I'll try and update soon.


	5. Blade Ships, Dracon Beams, and HorkBajir

Disclaimer: See my last chapters.

A/N: Sorry to all my reviewers who read this. I've been having problems with my computer and then I started off on another story called A Second Chance (just in case you want to check it out.) I've switched the thought speech to ( ). My computer didn't like the arrows.

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Blade Ships, Dracon Beams, and Hork-Bajir

I turned toward the computer voice, following Darex's head. Darex started to run towards... somewhere. I followed as best I could, trying to keep up with him. This was rather hard, considering he had about a few years and two extra legs on me. He also knew how to use his legs. WARNING: To those of you who have been with a Yeerk for about 3 years or more and are now living without one, do not try to run! You will fall.

Which is precisely what I proceeded to do. I banged up my knee pretty good, but I continued down the hall after Darex. I burst into the bridge. Strands of wet dark brown hair fell in my face as I bent over, breathing hard. I immediately regretted bursting in when I looked up an beheld Visser Three and a Hork-Bajir Controller behind him. I recognized the Hork-Bajir immediately, not because he was a Controller whom I had known; actually I recognized the expression on his face. This was because I had seen it on my face many times in the mirror. It was that evil smirk that Kornath had practiced so hard in the bathroom so that it would be down pat when needed. Honestly, I think he spent more time in the bathroom than I ever would have, given the choice.

Kornath--aka Visser Seven, aka the Hork-Bajir--spotted me. He looked at me with disbelief. I think he must have thought I had simply run away. I guessed that the police man had figured that too. He regained his composure quickly. Visser Three's evil "voice" filled the room, (You must surrender. If you do not, we will simply have to board your ship, so that we do not risk loosing such wonderful hosts.) He smiled evilly. I felt cold all of the sudden and shivered uncontrollably.

Chrispen and Liliana looked slightly afraid. Darex, on the other hand, looked like someone who was trying his best to look unafraid. Needless to say, we were all doomed and we knew it.

(You must give us time to decide our fate,) Darex demanded and then he turned off the communications thingy. He swiveled one stalk eye towards Chrispen and the other towards Liliana. (You must get out of here,) he said to Chrispen, (I will try to kill the Vissers myself by going aboard. Once I am aboard you must get Liliana out of here no matter what the cost.)

Chrispen shook his head slightly, (I do not wish to abandon you, my friend. I never have. But, I know I must also see that Liliana gets to the Andalite home world safely no matter what the cost. So, this I will do, I promise.)

I felt really left out and ignored at this point, so I walked over to the communications thingy and pressed the button that Darex had pushed to turn the communications off. I had a plan; a stupid plan, perhaps, but a plan nonetheless. "Hello, Visser Three. We will gladly surrender."

Visser Seven, Darex, Chrispen, and Liliana all stared at me like I had gone mad. Visser Three smiled creepily with his eyes again, (Troops, prepare to board the ship.) He cut the communications.

(Have you no mind? What were you thinking by telling Visser Three that we surrender!) Darex yelled so loudly that my head started to spin.

"I was thinking that it was our best plan of escape. You can kill the Hork-Bajir and morph them. Then, you can drag me and whoever decides to be bait onto the other ship. We can kill both Visser Three and Visser Seven and get out in a Bug Fighter."

Darex stared at me and started to mull it over, but before he could reach a decision Hork-Bajir boarded the ship...

A/N: Cliff hanger again. Don't worry. I've got the next chapter up too. So you don't have to wait. Oh, this will switch personalities at points.


	6. Girls and Guns

Disclaimer: see first chapter.

A/N: Hope you like this chapter too.

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Girls and Guns Never Should Mix

Darex's reaction to the Controllers was pure reflex. _Fwapp._ The first Controller had no head. The second one he knocked out. The third one came towards me; I grabbed the Dracon Beam out of my back pocket and fired. The third Controller looked quite shocked when the beam tore through him, though it didn't quite have the reaction I was expecting. I expected him to disintegrate, nevertheless he fell over dead with a burn mark thing on his chest. Chrispen and Darex took care of the rest of the Hork-Bajir in short order. Then, we had to decide who would morph and who would be the bait.

It ended up like this: Liliana and Darex were in morph, Chrispen and I were being dragged along by them. First, Chrispen and I had to be tied up and we had to look unconscious. They tied us loosely and put a sheath over Chrispen's tail. He looked rather funny. We then fell limp and were lifted by the other two. I felt Darex pick me up and he kind of slung me over his shoulder. Liliana did the same with Chrispen. We were carried over and dropped in front of the Visser. (Where are the other two Andalites?)

"Well sir, they took their own lives before we could get to them." Darex tried to look at the floor.

(Fools!) The Visser roared as he swung at Darex with his tail. Immediately Chrispen sprung into action. He blocked the Visser's blow as the sheath fell from his tail.

The room turned into immediate chaos. People were moving everywhere I was firing wildly at everything, some things looked fuzzy and some did not. My left arm was swinging wildly around me as I fired in a circle, killing everything in my path. It wasn't enough, they kept coming, Humans, Taxxons, and Hork-Bajir alike. At some point in the battle I felt something cut my right arm. I didn't quite process this fact because I had so much adrenaline going. So there-after, I saw Chrispen get knocked out by Visser Seven. Visser Seven began to drag Chrispen out of the room. I couldn't allow Visser Seven to enslave him, so I did the only thing I could think of at that moment. I shot and killed Chrispen.

I'm not quite sure what happened next, but the next thing I did know was that we were standing in a hallway heading toward the Bug Fighters. There weren't any guards this way, which was a relief.

Liliana swung a stalk eye towards me, (Why did you do it? Why did you kill him? I'm going to kill you!)

Before I could even explain myself Liliana took my Dracon Beam and shot me with it. It was on its highest level. Pain shot through my stomach and my world went black...

A/N: Hehe... I'm just gonna leave this at that for now. (Thinks about it) or not. I'll give you the next chapter since I'm on a role. This next chapter will be from two different people.


	7. Liliana's Log

A/N: I give up on the disclaimers. See my first chapter for it. You will not see any more.

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Liliana's Files

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From the files of Liliana-Shamico-Cancor

I stared at the fallen girl--Tiamate I believe her name was--and the Dracon Beam in my hand. Tiamate's, I believe it is called, artificial skin was singed with black revealing pale skin. Red blood started to well up around her abdomen. I couldn't believe what I had done. I don't think that Darex could quite believe it either. I honestly thought she was dead, when the strangest thing happened.

A male Human-Controller came running up. "What are you doing standing there?" He demanded. It was quite odd. He stopped, standing on Tiamate's hair and looked down. "Ah," he sounded slightly afraid as he spoke, "what happened to her?"

His eyes wandered over her face and down her body. We were so shocked that we didn't know whether to strike and kill him or not. He knelt down next to her and pulled off the top half of his skin. He was also wearing artificial skin. It was white instead of a faded pink color. He lifted her up gently and tied it around her abdomen where the blood was coming from. Then he set her down and tilted her head back. He quickly began to breath into her mouth and pound on her chest. Darex and I stood and watched him with awe. After three of our minutes he seemed satisfied.

Standing up, he turned towards us. "Go down the hall a little more and turn to your left. You will find a docking ring. Get one of the Bug Fighters and take her with you. She'll live if you keep her from moving for a couple of days. If she moves too early, she will reopen the wound. Try to change the bandages every chance you get. If you can't find anything, just try and wash that shirt. Good luck."

He ran down the hallway in the opposite direction. We followed his instructions and got the Bug Fighter. Darex was carrying Tiamate on his back. He looked rather stupid, now that I think of it. Rather stupid indeed.

Once we got the Fighter up off the ground, we burst through the docking bay doors. There was a large rip and a popping sound as we flew through the doors, but the Fighter did not sustain much damage, according to my brother. He shot out of Zero-Space, or Z-Space as we call it. I'm not sure where we were heading, and I don't think that Darex knew either. We were just trying to escape the Yeerks.

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Tiamate

I woke up sooner or later. Darex told me what had happened. I was also told not to move. We flew for weeks, stopping briefly at nearby planets that had vegetation for food and water. We finally decided that the next planet we went to, we would stop at and try to either call for help and just try and live our lives there until someone found us.

We were approaching a planet. It was beautiful. It was covered mostly in water and there was something familiar about it. "Hey Darex," I said, "What's the name of this planet?"

Darex looked at the readout from the computer, (Planet: Earth.)

It then hit me why it looked so familiar. It was my home. "Darex, I know where this is. It's my planet."

We talked it over and decided that if we were going to call for help, we might as well do it on a planet that A: was known by the Andalites and B: was a known Yeerk planet. We were hoping to deliver a blow to the Yeerks.

We landed, or actually crashed, in a forest. It definitely wasn't a familiar place. I've been all around California on a trip my friend drug me on and I have never seen a forest with pine trees. We headed strait, hoping to find civilization. What we found was a big apartment complex. There were lots of people around. I felt out of place as I walked out of the forest. I was wearing one shoe, a really raggedy shirt, and a pair of jeans that didn't fit anymore. A very nice man told me where I was and told me where I could get some help. He directed me to a Safe Place. (A/N: this place really exists. I don't own it.) I thanked him and walked back into the forest. "Ok," I said, "We're in Massachusetts. I'm gonna go to a place where they help teens who have run away. You can come with me, but you are gonna have to get morphs." The morphing business took no time at all. I just flirted with a few guys and got them to follow me into the forest. Drunk teens, they'll do anything. Darex knocked them out and the two of them acquired the two teens and me. They stole the guys' clothes after they were done and we went walking towards a Quick Trip.

A/N: Ok, I'm done for the day. I'll update as soon as I can. Hope you enjoyed my three chapters. Please R/R.


	8. Safe Place

A/N: All right, I got bored and started a new chapter. Enjoy.

****

"Safe Place"

We headed down to the Quick Trip. Darex and Liliana were trying to walk without falling. It wasn't working very well. They kept tripping over their own feet. Liliana was tripping over pants that were a little too long. Darex's pants were falling down his waist. I had a large hole in my shirt. Needless to say we all looked like idiots. Finally we got to the QT. Darex got there first. "Hello, hel-lo. O. Hello." He sounded like such a drug addict.

"Hey there buddy. Do you need something?" The clerk eyed Darex suspiciously.

I rushed in, breathing heavily. Liliana came up behind me and collapsed on the floor. "Hi," I said, "We need a safe place."

"Oh," the clerk responded. "Follow me." He led us to a back room. "If you'll wait here someone will be here in about 15-20 minutes."

I took that time to get a good look at my two companions. They had taken refuge on the floor, after tripping over each other. Liliana was about my height, with brown hair and pale blue eyes. Her skin was pale which contrasted greatly with mine. She looked very pretty. I felt average looking at her.

I turned my head to study Darex. He was breathing heavily and his greenish blue eyes were half open. He was tall, with dirty blond hair that was kinda long in that messy sort of way. He wasn't very muscular in that bulky sort. More lanky and very lean. If I didn't know that he was an Andalite, I'd be very attracted to him.

Which reminded me. I needed to get to a phone soon and call my boyfriend, Tom. It was time for a breakup. That was a happy thought. Tom wasn't really my boyfriend. He and I started to date a few years ago, a little after the start of the attacks from the Andalite Bandits. It had started because he was a pretty high up Yeerk and I was a very high up Yeerk. We needed to keep in contact, so we decided to go out. By the time Tom got a Yeerk change, we were going steady; we decided to keep up the relationship, rather than have tons of questions asked of us. ((A/N: This was the only thing that kept Tom from being killed in the 8th book. The Yeerk change happened in the 6th.))

I'm getting off topic aren't I? Sorry. Anyway, a man from the Safe Place had just arrived. He grinned kindly at us. "Hello, I'm Mr. Detric. Who are you three?"

Darex opened his mouth to respond to the inquiry, but I cut him off before he could make a fool of himself. "Hi, I'm Tiamate. These are my friends Darien and Lillian. They can't speak very well. That's why I'd be glad to give you all the information you need." I smiled a wide, fake looking smile.

"Alright, what are your last names?"

"I'm Tiamate Komathera, and these are Lillian and Darien Alderman." I responded. I hoped that Kat wouldn't kill me too much for dragging her into this. Alderman was after all her last name.

The man smiled and asked us if we lived here locally. I told him that I had ran away from home in California about four or so weeks ago and had met them on my way here. When he inquired how someone about sixteen could drive all the way here and then come in with no car, I explained that we had hitchhiked. I felt insulted though that he called me sixteen. I was seventeen and could prove it. He then told us about the dangers of hitchhiking. I felt like I was in Health all over again.

After he calmed down, he offered to take us to the Safe Place and call our parents.

We got there soon enough. Darex and Liliana were fascinated with the car we went in. I was trying so badly to hide in the back seat or melt into a puddle. When we got there, we had to answer even more questions, like why did we run away and such. It took hours. Meanwhile more people were searching for our parents in California. What they found out was that the only living "relatives" of the "Aldermans" were Kat's parents. They also found out that I was suppose to be here. They contacted my aunt and uncle, these being people whom I have never met, and contacted Kat's parents. We spent the night at the Place, so that I could wait for Kat to arrive.

A/N: And the plot thickens... Ok, so maybe it doesn't, but hey I can dream. Please R/R. Please.


	9. Kat EntersReenters the Scene

Disclaimer: Do I need to even do this? I don't own the Animorphs.

A/N: Thanks to all my reviews. As to Mabby I'm not quite sure what you mean. My computer started to hate me so my thought speech is in ( ).

****

Kat Enters/Reenters the Scene

I was so tired. Lily and Darex kept me up all night. They asked endless questions about Kat. Who she was, where she lived, where I would live, was that far away from Kat's living area ((that was Lily's question)), would the Yeerks be anywhere near where Kat would live, did she have a forest near her dome, and other questions like that. My aunt and uncle arrived at seven. Kat was going to arrive at nine. It was pretty late for me, having grown up in California. I had to get used to time changes. But I was still sleepy, having gotten about two hours of sleep.

When my aunt and uncle arrived, I stared at them from behind drooping eyelids. My aunt looked very pretty. She had reddish graying hair that framed her round, cheery face. Her hazel eyes stared at me from behind large glasses that slid down her nose. My uncle was short and stocky. He had dark skin and was well built, though he seemed to have let himself go slightly. His dark curly hair was also showing signs of graying. He wore a warm smile that reached his dark brown eyes.

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and put down the book I was staring mindlessly at for the past hour while trying to catch some Zzzs. My aunt spoke first, "Hello Tiamatanara, I'm your aunt. Aunt Martha. This is your uncle, Harold."

I smiled at them. "Aunt, um, Martha. If you don't mind, I'd like to be called Tia or Tiamate."

"That would be fine dear. Well, do you have your things or do you need new things?"

I looked down at my attire. Kat would be bringing all my clothes which were pink. Pink is seriously not my color, I decided and reminded myself that I needed to wait for Kat anyway. She was bringing my glasses. "I didn't bring any of my clothes, but if you don't mind I really need to wait for my friend. I accidentally left my glasses at her place. She's coming to pick up her cousins anyway and promised to bring them." I was lying through my teeth when it came to the glasses. I kind of wished Kat would forget them. I hate my glasses.

Unfortunately for me, Kat remembered my glasses. Fortunately she forgot the clothes. I could hug her. She came in and I ran to meet her. "FLOSS!" I exclaimed, using the old nickname, "How are you?"

"Fine RB, never better. We missed you. Why did you run away anyway?"

"Well, that's what I can't tell you here. Come on. I want to show you something."

I drug her into the room that I had slept in, Lily and Darex trailed behind. "Kat," I whispered, "What I am about to show you, you can never tell anyone." Kat promised she wouldn't. I instructed Lily and Darex to demorph. They did, with Kat staring onward with wide eyes.

"Since when do Andalites live on Earth?" She inquired, before I could even speak. We stared at her dumbfounded.

"Since when do you know about Andalites?" I asked her.

"Since I was created. Now I have a secret to show you." Her whole body shimmered in front of us and a metal dog looking thing stood in front of us. "I'm a Chee. I was created eons ago. I have lived here for many centuries. Sorry I couldn't tell you sooner." There was a slight pause before she added, "I hope we can still be friends. I know how much you don't like the idea of aliens. Especially aliens who are smarter than you."

It took a few moments for me to get my voice, "Kat, I couldn't tell you what I really meant. I meant that I can't stand aliens who know they are smarter and more advanced and brag about it. I just couldn't tell you because I was enslaved by a Yeerk..." She held up a hand to stop me.

"I know what a Yeerk is. You don't have to explain."

That day I grew closer to Kat and gained a new appreciation of my two Andalite companions.

And printing. Stupid slow computer. Staring at the computer, I watched as the pages of this episode began to take form on paper. Once it was done I wrote as an afterthought:

If anyone finds this document, this means that I am either dead, enslaved, or the war is over. Hopefully it will be the last one.

Signed,

Tiamate Marie Komathera

I really don't know why I wrote that whole thing. I just felt that I might feel better if I could. Maybe it would help me forget the last few years of torture and allow me to get on with my life. I feel much better and ready to face the world. A Yeerk free day at a new school. A new life free of pain and Andalites... A life of a free girl...

A/N: Is this the end of my story? I think not. There is more fun and surprises yet to come. So stick around.


	10. Normal Life

Disclaimer: What do you think?

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated. I've been busy and also left my story in my locker all through Winter Break. Enjoy my next chapter please. One more thing ((...)) usually will stand for (...), since (...) is used for thought speech.

**Normal Life...or Not?**

I thought I would be back to leading a normal life like before when I started school today. Boy was I so wrong...

The morning started out like most Mondays. I shot down the steps of my aunt and uncle's house after dressing. I snatched up a packet of instant cinnamon oatmeal._ It's just a safety precaution. _I reminded myself. ((In case word never gets out again, cinnamon oatmeal is the only thing I know of that the Yeerks are allergic to. It makes them go crazy and possibly die. We tried to cover it up about two years ago, but somehow the Andalite Bandits found out. They dumped a whole bunch of the stuff into the Yeerk Pool. Unfortunately Kornath wasn't in it. I was pretty mad. My one chance to get rid of him and... I'm getting off subject. Anyway, Esplin was somehow involved in it too. You know, Visser Three's twin.))

Speaking of twins... oh, never mind. You'll find out soon enough.

I choked the stuff down. It felt like slime going down my throat, all gooey and gross. ((Can you tell that I hate the stuff?)) To keep myself from hurling, I snagged a banana and ate it as I drove to school, since my aunt let me drive her car.

School was great. I was adjusting to the public system and had plenty of teachers to help me get from class to class. Life couldn't have been much better. Until lunchtime came.

They didn't have much choice in the food department. I ended up snagging a salad, deciding to toss the chicken when I was done. I found myself a nice empty table and plopped myself down.

"Is anyone sitting here?" a polite voice asked. I shook my head. "Mind if I sit here."

"No, go ahead. Seat's open." I looked up from my salad to see a guy about my age with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes sitting down across from me. He smiled warmly.

"Hi, I'm Alex." He extended a hand to me.

"Tiamate," I responded through a mouthful of food as I accepted his hand.

He studied me for a minute. I ignored him until he inquired if I was going to eat my chicken. I said no and explained that I had decided to become a vegetarian. When he asked about it, I told him that I couldn't stand the sight of dead things, let alone eat them. He nodded and paused for a moment. Then he shook his head quickly, almost like he was trying to get rid of a strange thought or something.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I started thinking about Darex, Lily, and Kat and wondered how they were doing when, "Hey, do you wanna go to the Sharing Meeting tonight?" Alex abruptly asked.

"Uh..." I responded, totally lost.

"Do you want to go to the Sharing with me tonight?" he repeated.

"Not really, no. I tried it, but it definitely wasn't for me. So I dropped out."

"Lucky you. I have to go. I'm a full-fledged member."

I nearly choked on my soda, causing most of it to come out of my nose. Coughing, I looked up at him. He was smiling causally.

"By the looks of it, you're shocked to hear me admitting it. What may shock you more is the fact that I'm not bringing in anyone to recapture you. That's only because-" I opened my mouth to cut him off, but he held up a hand to stop me, "That's only because I'm perfectly content with where I am. Plus, you'd make her gay. Would not. I'm the master of stealth. Well mister 'master of stealth' how come I am talking to you _through my mouth?_ Oh, crap..."

"What the heck is going on here?" I inquired in a low voice.

"Um, well listen, have you ever heard about the Yeerk called Aftran. You know the one who knew who the Andalite Bandits were?" I nodded, still trying to wrap my mind around what was going on. "Well, she was a part of a group called the Yeerk Peace Movement. So am I."

I frowned, _Why is he telling me all this? Why should I care? All I want is a normal life. Not one that is screwed up by the Yeerks. _

"Hate to break it to you girl, but your life was screwed up by the Yeerks the minute you joined the Sharing. Even though you've left, you're still in danger. So we're here to offer you some peace of mind and some sanctuary. So what do you say?"

"Huh?"

"Your comment about a normal life and all. Duh."

It was then that I realized that I had been thinking out loud. "H…how do I know that I can trust you?"

"You remember when Kornath told you that his real name was Norkath 3722? And you remember that when he found out that his brother's host was your father? He had you burn the entire house down. He killed your father, but he didn't kill me. I am Norkath 3722. Kornath's twin."

I couldn't believe it. All these years of envisioning both dead. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had come home from school late. I had gotten a "detention". Actually it was the excuse for me to meet with the assistant principal about our new partner/boyfriend. Tom. I was still in eighth grade, but would be moving up to the ninth grade in the private school soon. When we arrived home we received a phone call from Visser Three, warning me/Kornath that my father had a new Yeerk and it was his twin Norkath. We waited for him to come home. He was later than usual, but that was to be expected. We sat in the couch with Kornath holding a lighter in my hand and a cigarette sticking out of my mouth. I didn't smoke, it was for dad. Kornath lit it and flicked it onto a spot of alcohol near my dad. Kornath smirked as the fire started to burn the house and the floor under my father's feet. The fire had created a circle around my dad that was rapidly spreading outward and inward. "You won't get away with this!" Norkath had shouted through my father's mouth.

"On the contrary, little bro, both alcohol and smoking can kill a person." I had started screaming and crying then, inside my little part of my mind as Kornath forced me to walk out the door and watch as the house began to burn down. He started to laugh evilly. My mom came home early. She saw the lighter in my hand, the evil grin on my face, and dad's car in the driveway. She ran over to the neighbor's house and called the fire department. We were questioned endlessly about it, but Kornath knew some people on the force and they took care of keeping the blame off us. The last thing I remember about it was my father crawling out of the rubble and Kornath standing over him. "Now, you die." He turned and we walked off. I remember a boy about my age walking by, but we ignored him. My father then inherited a ranch from my grandparents and enough money that my mother could afford the tuition of the private school and still manage to come home drunk every night since then.

"I was that kid who walked by your house that day. Your father convinced me to take Norkath and join the Sharing. I've been a member ever since." The guy studied my face for a minute.

"How can I trust this?" I finally asked.

"Let me come over to your house tomorrow afternoon. You can talk to Alex about it then." He walked off and the bell rang for us to get to class.

I barely got through the next two classes. My mind was on that kid Alex and tomorrow. I was so lost in math, my last class thankfully, and had to keep poking myself with my pencil to stay awake. Maybe it would have been better if I had stayed with Kat, Darex, and Lily. I might not be so lost.

Well now you know what my day was like. How am I gonna get through tomorrow? Oh, like you'd know. You're a computer.

A/N: Well I hope you like it. Next chapter will explain the torture that Kat is going through. Please review.


	11. School Meets Andalites

Disclaimer: Do I need to tell you?

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update that last chapter. Well as I promised this is from Kat's POV. Enjoy.

**School Meet Andalites**

I groaned as the buzzer that told me it was time to get up went off. I hate my internal buzzer. It is so annoying. It had been a few weeks since I had seen Tia and met Darex and Lily. Well now I had convinced my "parents" to enroll me into a public school along with the other two. What I didn't realize was that even though I had been many people behind my holograms, nothing would prepare me for what would happen today.

Standing up, I glanced at the sleeping form of Lily. She was so lucky. She got to sleep in because she was in middle school. She was enrolled as a 15-year-old, while Darex and I were 17. Like I said, lucky Andalite. I crossed over to Darex's room. He was still asleep. I debated changing my hologram to look like Visser Three and scare the "pants" off him but decided against it. Instead I kindly poked him awake. "Darex," I hissed in his ear, "time to get up. Rise and shine."

(Might I sleep for five more minutes, Mother,) Darex mumbled in his sleep.

_Mother? _I thought to myself, _do I look like his mother or something._

"I'm not your mom, De." I told him, using the new nickname I had given him earlier this week. He looked up at me with one stalk eye and it widened to the size of a tangerine, which was shocking because his eye was about the size of a quarter.

(Forgive me Kat. I was not thinking. Is it time to rise to go to your school?)

"Hey, it's your school too. Don't forget. But yes, it's time to go to school."

He nodded and started to walk towards the bathroom. I knew what he was going to do, but I wasn't sure if there was time for it. "Hey, if you're gonna go do your ritual thing, try to make it quick." I instructed. He nodded.

I strode quickly over to my room and stood in front of my mirror. Mimicking a brush in my holographic hand, I brushed my holographic hair and fixed some clothes to wear today. After spending fifteen minutes on my hair and clothes, I knocked on the door of the bathroom. "De, hurry up. We're gonna be late."

"I am coming Kat. I simply must figure out what to do with this. This-iss-sss. Thiss. I will be ready momentarily."

"Quit playing with words, remember."

"I am sorry. It is just that the 's' sound is quite fascinating to make."

I walked down the steps, shaking my head as Darex continued to play with words and get dressed. I was sitting down to a holographic breakfast when he tripped down the steps. He looked like he had gotten dressed blindfolded in the middle of a tornado. His underwear was on his head, his pants were on one arm, his one sock was on his ear, and his other sock was on his nose. The only thing that was on right was his shirt, which was a bit small. If I were a human girl, I would probably be staring, but I am past that. I know who I want. Also, I'm not that attracted to humans. No offense to them, but they aren't my type. Anyway, I led him into the downstairs bathroom, dressed him, he ate, and we left for the bus stop, after waking Lily for her first day.

School went well for the first five minutes. When we arrived, the school had just opened. I wasn't used to hearing a bell at seven o'clock in the morning and must admit I jumped a bit, but Darex freaked out. "Relax," I hissed in his ear, "it's just the bell. Come on, we need to go to the councilor's office to get our schedules." We found the councilor's office after asking someone. The dude looked at us like we were nuts and pointed to our left. I blushed deeply. "Thanks," I mumbled, grabbing Darex's arm and drug him to the office.

After we received our schedules, we looked them over. Our first three classes were with the same person, but after third period, things got a bit mixed up. I was fairly close to all my classes, I surmised as we looked at a map, but Darex was everywhere. I hoped he didn't get too lost. Also, we had different lunches, which could be a problem. Well, we decided to make the best of it. After all, we were together for at least three periods and could track each other down if there was a problem. Poor Lily, she had to try to fend for herself.

Our first day went rather well, until fifth period. I ended up getting called down to the principal's office because of De. He had ended up accidentally causing a food fight. He wanted to talk to me to see if I could get him some new clothes and make a suggestion about how to stop it from happening again.

The principal smiled as I entered the room. "Miss Alderman, how nice to meet you; I can't thank you enough for coming down here. I would like to talk about your cousin. He is such a nice boy, but I think he has a bit of a discipline problem." I glanced over at Darex, who looked as if he wanted nothing better than to sink into his chair. The principal smiled as he said his next words. "That is why I would like to suggest that you consider the Sharing. It has an excellent program for all students. It is also a great way to 'hang out' with family. I think that it is in your best interest if you and your family members join up." There was something about his smile that really wigged me out.

"I'll look into it." I smiled, "What do you want me to do about Darien for now?"

"We'll let him go to his last period; now run along. The bell just rang and you don't want to be late for class do you?"

We left him and his creepy smile. "Come on De, we need to get you to a bathroom and get you cleaned off."

"That would be wise, w-wise-se. Wise."

"Stop it! Go to class and then ask the teacher for a pass to the bathroom. They should let you go."

Thankfully, we made it through school without anymore interruptions. But, now we had a problem. The principal wanted us to check out the Sharing, which meant he probably was a Controller and would probably be there. I just didn't want to lead Darex and Lily into anything dangerous. Or that could turn them into Controllers. We don't need Andalite Controllers running around who could potentially harm me, Tia, or anyone else who stood in there way. Darex, Lily, and Tia hadn't told me all, but what I had surmised was that the Yeerks already had one Andalite host and didn't need two more.

I flagged Darex down as I entered the bus. He sat down next to me and we rode home.

We still had to wait another two hours till Lily got out home and we could go and visit a friend of mine. I just hoped that he was still functioning properly. I needed a repair job anyway.

A/N: Hope you like this next chapter. I will hopefully be updating soon, liketoday. I hope.


	12. Andalite Meets School

Disclaimer: I give up. This is the last one I'm writing! I don't own the Animorphs. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fics.

A/N: I am trying to do better about updating sooner. I hope I am doing ok. This is different from the eleventh chapter because it is from Lily's pov. Please enjoy and R/R.

**Andalite Meets School**

Kathryn was kind enough to wake me for my first day of, what she called, "public school". I rose and morphed into my human form. Opening the "drawers" of a dresser, I removed an article of clothes called a "bre" or a "bra". I was unsure what the true name of it was, but I decided that it was unimportant. What was important was how to don the article. I vaguely remembered Kat instructing me in wearing it and attempted to place it on my person. I pulled on an article called a "shirt" and placed the bre/bra on my body over the shirt. I put on some "shorts" and placed something called "underwear" on my head. I frowned as I looked at myself in the mirror. _Are the hooks supposed to be worn on the back or in the front?_ I believed that they were worn in the front, but was still unsure. I decided to fix my appearance in the restroom if my mode of dress was incorrect.

I ate a piece of fruit on my way out to the "bus stop". There were many children there, who looked the same age as my human morph. I stretched my mouth into a smile as I passed. A girl about my age approached me. "Hi, I like your clothes. Very unique."

The girl smiled and I felt my face getting hot.

"Is this not the proper way to dress oneself?" I inquired slowly, so as not to stumble or play with words. Kat had informed me that this was unacceptable. I was attempting not to displease her.

"Not really, but hey, that's why I like your style. Very cool. My parents would never let me out of the house in something like that. They barely let me out of the house in this." She smiled again, slightly wider than before. I looked at her appearance. She had donned herself in a pink shirt, a pair of "pants", a green "sock", a blue "sock", and wore her mane of hair in many different ways. Her hair was held by brightly colored things that placed her tresses facing many different directions. I did not understand what was wrong with her outfit until I looked at every other human there. They were getting on a large, yellow creature that seemed to be prepared to devour them as they stepped into its mouth. I scarcely managed to stifle the yell of panic that threatened to reveal itself. The girl grabbed my arm and drew me into the creature's mouth. I closed my eyes and felt myself falling. A boy behind me and the girl who had spoken to me reached out and steadied me.

"Careful," he grinned, "You need to be more careful."

I muttered a quick and polite thank you as he walked around me and positioned himself on a brown thing, bending his knees and placing his buttocks on the outstretched area.

"Wow, that Erek is something else. He is so hot." The girl sighed. "Oh, by the way, I'm Erica. Who are you?"

"I am called Lily." I responded as she steered me towards a similar thing as the boy had sat down upon. She tugged hard on my arm as she sat, causing me to bend my knees in a similar fashion. I landed hard on the brown thing. "Oww-ww," I grumbled.

"You alright?"

"I am fine-fin-ee. Fine."

"Ok, if you say so." She rested on the back of the brown thing and stared at the back of the boy whose name was Erek.

We arrived at a large building. There were several more long, squat buildings surrounding it. Erica must have seen the panicked look on my face because she turned to me and smiled, "Don't worry. Stick with me and I'll show you the ropes."

I turned in a circle. "I see no ropes."

"It's an expression." The smile never faded.

It turned out that I was unable to be in every class with Erica. This was acceptable to me. We realized that we did have the same first period and lunch period. Erica said that I would be able to ask any of my teachers or classmates if I got lost. I did not "get lost" while finding my second period, though I did have a slight panic attack when the bell rang for us to leave. ((I had missed the first bell because Erica and I were in the middle of a conversation.)) My third period, however, was a little more confusing. The sheet said to enter the "new gym". Unfortunately, the "new gym" and the "old gym" were in two different places.

I wondered around for a few moments, before I beckoned for a girl, who was in my first class, to help me. She had dark skin and animal feces on her artificial skin, but she smiled and led me to the new gym. It turned out that she was in the same class as I was, along with her friend, Rachel. She told me that her name was Cassie. She lent me a spare pair of gym clothes for the class, insisting that I should wear them.

My third period was something called P.E. It was very confusing. We played a game called "basket ball". I was unable to understand the game and could not stay standing. Afterword, Cassie and her friend Rachel helped me dress myself again, since our coach insisted that we "dress out" for his class. They then invited me to sit with them at lunch. I inquired if I may bring Erica along and they agreed.

I reunited with Erica during fifth period and told her about Rachel and Cassie. She agreed that they were nice girls and was thrilled that they had invited me to sit at their table. When I explained that they had consented to let her sit with me, she looked even more ecstatic.

Rachel flagged us down when we had gotten our lunch. I was frowning at mine. It was a leafy green substance called a "salad". It looked rather disgusting. "Hey, Lily, Erica, come sit down with us." Her smile was warm and inviting. We sat next to her as she kept a look out for Cassie. When Cassie finally joined us, Rachel turned towards us. "So, you guys check out the Sharing yet?" I froze, not sure what to say as I looked at her.

Erica shook her head, "Not yet, though I was thinking about it, though. I hear it's pretty cool. What about you guys?"

Rachel shook her head, "I checked it out with Cassie and my cousin, but it wasn't for us."

I frowned, "I have not 'checked it out', but I have a friend who was a member and she says that she ended up hating it. She said that it ate up all her time and made it impossible for her to have a social life. Thus, I have concluded that I will not check it out. Owwut-out-oww"

Rachel and Cassie stared at me for a moment. I felt uncomfortable, almost as if I had said too much, but then the bell rang and it distracted them enough so that I could edge away.

I was relieved when the end of the day bell rang and we were aloud to leave. I was very proud of myself for remembering to demorph every two hours, which is what my brother seemed most concerned about. I simply hoped that I had not spoken about Tiamate in front of Yeerk Controllers. I did not believe that would have been good.

Kat and Darex greeted me as I entered Kat's house. "Hey, demorph and remorph, or whatever you need to do to get ready. I need to go over to a friend's house today."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this last chapter. Please R/R. Thanks.


	13. Updates and Actual Dates

Disclaimer: Ok I wrote part of this before my other chapter. Feel special. As you know I don't own the Animorphs, or Erek. Pity. If I did do you think I'd be doing this? Sorry. On to the story.

**Updates and Actual Dates**

Kathryn's POV:

Err... Why did she have to leave me with these dorks? Honestly. I'm this close to killing them. Hmm... Oh well. Maybe I should hit Erek's house. Mr. King might not be too happy to see me, but this Pamelite Crystal thing has really been bugging me lately. ((A/N: I'm not sure if the Pamelite Crystal is spelled correctly, or if that is even its name. Feel free to let me know if it's misspelled.)) It's been bugging me for a couple of centuries, but that could be because the Chee weren't supposed to be violent people. I have one of the only two Pamelite Crystals created. Erek _had_ the other one, but he threw it into the ocean about a year ago. He said it made him too violent and that scared him. At least he had a choice of whether or not to get rid of it. Oh, never mind. I'll quit ranting now, I promise.

It's been about two months since Tia moved and stuck me with these two. ((Ok, now I'm truly done ranting.)) I really should give her a call soon to see how she is.

Shrugging that idea off for another time, I poked my head out the window and shouted to De. "I'm going out, wanna come?"

(Where are you headed?) He asked, starting to morph into a human.

"To my friend Erek's. Wanna come with?"

(Perhaps it would be in our best interest if we waited for my sister's return.)

"Alright," I complained.

When she finally arrived, we greeted her at the door. "Hey, demorph and remorph, or whatever you need to do to get ready. I need to go over to a friend's house today."

We drove over to Erek's house, about a 25 minute drive, give or take a few minutes. I rang the doorbell and Erek's smiling hologram greeted us. "Hell-o? Kat, what are you doing here?" His confused voice inflection of his corded voice box caused me to think that he was expecting someone else.

"Hello Erek. I'm fine. And how are you? Honestly, doesn't anyone greet each other with a nice hello anymore? Were you expecting someone Erek?" The last question was directed at him, the first two being rhetorical.

"Uh, actually I was expecting a few friends of mine. Is there something you need?"

"Yes, I was wondering if you could check my crystal. It's been bugging me for the past couple of centuries."

Erek looked annoyed at the fact that I hadn't told him sooner, but invited us in anyway.

"Sit down," he directed me once we were safely inside and downstairs. I politely sat on the grass and began to pet a dog that came over to see me. "Open up your panel and let me see." Obligingly I opened my chest panel and showed him the malfunctioning crystal.

Leaning over and peering in, Erek began muttering to himself about the state of both the crystal and my hard drive. "Hand me that tool box on the table." He ordered, accidentally bumping something in my hard drive. It sent a spark of pleasure that made me shiver uncontrollably. "So, who are your friends?" Erek inquired, trying to make pleasant conversation.

"They're Tia's actually. She asked me to watch over them and so they are posing as my cousins. What was that?" I asked as sparks shot from my chest cavity.

"Nothing. Well, your hard drive is almost fried. You need some major repairs. You may need to come back this Friday."

"Can't you do it now?"

"I'm expecting some people. So, can you come Friday then?"

"It's a date."

Marco's POV:

We were still a little weirder out by what Cassie and Rachel had told us about the new girl, which kind of sucked. I thought she was so hot and now wasn't sure if she was datable since knew that she knew a Yeerk. It may mean that she is a Controller. Talk about having lame life. I never can get a break can I?

(Hurry up, Erek was expecting us ten minutes ago.) Tobias sounded annoyed, but that was expected. He and Ax had a fight neither of them elaborated more than saying something about Ax breaking the TV.

"Hey, look you guys." Rachel said, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, did you see a new sale you wanted to check out at the mall all the way from here?" I ventured, like the asinine being I was.

I got a smack for that.

"No, I was talking about the three people I swore I just saw leaving Erek's."

I stared at her, as did everyone else. (I didn't see anyone. I was looking over there. I thought I saw something.) Tobias told her, landing on a tree and indicating where he was looking.

"I don't think anyone else saw who you were talking about, Rachel. Sorry." Cassie comforted her. After all, Cassie is our big tree hugger.

Jake, our fearless leader, rang the doorbell. "Hello, guys. Nice to see you. What can I do for you?" Erek's smiling face greeted us. It was probably just me, but I swore he was hiding something….

A/N: Finally I have brought the Animorphs in. Twice, go me! Sorry. Well hope you liked. Please R/R.


	14. Alex or Nor?

Disclaimer: I give up, no more of these. If you don't recognize anyone from the book, chances are, THEY AREN'T IN THE BOOK! If they aren't in the book, chances are I OWN THEM!

I am ok…

**Alex or Nor?**

I was in a panic state. I could barely concentrate on any of my homework last night and probably flunked my Stat's test. That guy Alex was coming over today at 4. My aunt and uncle weren't coming home till five and my cousin, Jessica, was bringing her new fiancé over for dinner at six, just so I could meet the annoying bastard. Needless to say, my emotions were running a bit higher than usual…

The doorbell rang and woke me from my nap. I pulled myself from the couch and peered through the peep hole. It was that Alex dude. I swung the door open and put on a huge grin. "Hi, Alex. Why don't you come in?"

"Uh, thanks. I will." When he entered, he turned to me, "So where'd you like to do this thing?"

"Let's go into the kitchen and talk." I followed him into the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?" I inquired, opening the fridge.

"Could I have a glass of water and a towel?"

I looked at him oddly from under my arm, but got him the glass and the towel. He grinned sheepishly and held the glass up to his ear. My hand went immediately to my back pocket, where the crappy Dracon Beam was located. _It's just a safely precaution,_ I told myself. A slug-like creature slid out of the guy's ear and plopped into the glass. I stared, trying to look casual, as if Yeerks dropping into glasses in my kitchen was _perfectly_ normal. It didn't really work. He stared at me like I had lost my mind.

"Are you constipated or something?" He asked.

"No. I-i'm fine." I managed to squeak.

"Sorry, you're probably not used to hosts who find it normal for a Yeerk to be sitting in a glass of water like this. As Nor explained earlier, we are members of the 'infamous' Yeerk Peace Movement."

"Nor?" I inquired, sliding slowly into the nearest seat.

"Short for Norkath," he replied. "Anyway, we were wondering if, well, wouldyouconsiderjoiningus?" he inquired, stringing his question into one word.

"Get out." I said, glaring at him and pointing towards the back door, "get out and never return. Now." My voice was calm as I spoke and he left quickly. I leaned back in my seat and breathed, tears streaming down my face. I heard the garage opening and I started out the kitchen, wiping away the tears, when I noticed something was amiss. The Yeerk was still sitting on the kitchen table. _No, _I thought to myself,_ this can't be happening._ I wanted to cry so badly. This was not my day.

Ok, poor Tia will be stuck with more problems, I promise. Nothing more to report. I will tell you this though, it may take a while for me to update again, but I'll try. Promise. Also, next chapter will probably be from Kat's P.O.V. Please R/R.


	15. Yeerks and Fiances

Disclaimer: …Oh, never mind. You know.

Review notes:

LilManiac: Thanks so much for your review. I'm glad you love it so much.

Elwing: Glad you like it. I, traycon3, am the only one writing this and the other Animorphs fic, Animorphs: A Second Chance. FisheyMe writes the Harry Potter fic. She has written Magical Mischief Makers: UNITE! I just bug her about updating and give her random comments. 

A/N: You know how I said that the next chapter may be from Kat's p.o.v.? I lied. I realized that I had to fix my other problem BEFORE Friday, since in this universe it's Monday.

**Fiancés and Yeerks**

I sighed as I got into my room before my aunt entered the kitchen. "Tia, honey, are you home?"

"Yes ma'am." I called, leaning over the steps.

"Well come down. You need to help me prepare dinner for Jessica and her fiancé."

I smiled at my aunt, "I'll be down in a minute. Let me do something in my room first."

"Okay dear."

I peeked back into my room and made sure that the Yeerk was still sitting on my desk in the glass. "Now it's time to meet Dan," I muttered under my breath. "Wonderful."

It took two hours and a burnt ham, but we finally got dinner ready. We ordered pizza. Jessica and Dan came two minutes after the pizza arrived. She smiled at us, her white teeth showing under purplish lipstick. Her brown eyes surveyed the kitchen and she placed a dark hand on the table. "Was dad cooking?" she asked my aunt, running a hand through her short, dark hair.

"No, dear. We had a problem with the oven." My aunt smiled pleasantly and I surveyed Dan. He was tall with light skin, reddish hair, and sharp features. His blue eyes danced as he laughed.

I didn't much like him. His laugh reminded me of Tom's when I… Kornath… was torturing or killing people.

"I'd have been happy to have helped you cook, Miss Martha. I love to cook," Dan commented.

"He's just a joy to have around the house, mom. He cooks, cleans, and even does laundry. Sometimes he seems too good to be true." Jess was beaming up at Dan.

"Now dear, just because Dan can cook doesn't mean that you are allowed to stay away from here. I don't care how well he cooks or cleans. I expect to see you over at my house every other month at least."

"Mom, you know how hard that will be. Dan's new job wants to take him to California and I'm moving with him. You know that."

"I know dear, but it's just so hard to accept. Now, sit down and I'll call your father up to dinner." Aunt Martha opened the basement door and called down to Uncle Harold.

Dinner was nice and I got to know Dan better. He was a nice guy, but I wasn't too sure about him. Like Jess said, he seems too good to be true.

Nor

_Where is he? _I thought. I knew that chances are, I was still in the glass Alex had placed me in earlier. But, I had been moved. I knew this when my whole world seemed to shake. Now it was steady. I sensed something and used my echolocation to find out what it was. I couldn't make out anything from the echolocation, but could figure it out when I felt myself being lifted out of the water. My skin started to harden and I relaxed, figuring it was Alex. When I reached the ear canal, I flattened myself out and worked my way into the brain. I was shocked when I first reached the eyes. I was staring at a mirror. In the mirror was the image of the girl Tia, not of Alex. Curious, I pushed myself even further into her mind, but didn't touch anything.

"You sure don't act like a normal Yeerk," a suspicious voice said.

I jumped a bit, but relaxed. (I'm just trying to figure out what's going on.)

"And you didn't decide to search my memories."

(I didn't want to intrude.)

"Go ahead, I don't care." She crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders.

I flipped through her memories and one caught my attention. It was a construction sight. She was standing—"Not that one!" she shouted, her body shaking madly. "Keep going."

(Sorry.) I flipped some more and saw her escape from the Yeerk pool. I recognized the Yeerk who saved her, but didn't say anything. I didn't want to piss her off or something. I continued and saw her escape from the Andalite Bandits, meet some other Andalite friends, kill one Andalite, get shot by another, ((which explained a lot)) dump the two on her friend, meet Alex, and practically kill him for asking her to join us. ((That idiot.)) I continued and watched as she ate dinner with her family and then decided to ask me something. She interrupted me before I could find out what it was.

"Close enough. Now, tell me. Did your friend Alex really want me to join your little group?"

(Well, yes and no. We really need new members, but we can live with what we have now. Alex actually was supposed to explain who we were, that much is true, but he really wanted to ask you out. He just didn't know how.)

"He wanted to ask me out?"

(Yeah. He has a huge crush on you and was trying to figure out the best way to ask you out. Unfortunately it must have backfired on him. So I apologize for him now. Please forgive him.)

"All right. I'll give him a second chance."

(And I'll tell you how and where to give me back to him.) She seemed okay with it and moved a hand up, waiting for me to drop out so she could put me back in the glass.

(Hey, listen. I don't really like glasses. So, do you mind if I stay in your head.)

"No, you cannot. Out. Now." I slid out and felt my skin harden once again. I relaxed when I felt the water around me again. _Maybe this time the moron will be able to actually as her out, _I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Hope you like this chapter. Please R/R.


	16. The Peace Movement's Strike

Disclaimer: I'll never tell.

AllorNone: Actually I don't live anywhere near Massachusetts. I'm a bit south of that. Like, way south, but a state up from Florida. But, my current location is in the north now. Also, thanks for the near/farsighted thing. I've never quite figured it out and I have just fixed it. No one else actually noticed though, so I'm glad you told me.

LilManiac: I'm glad you think that it's so cute. I thought so too. Sorry about the P.O.V. mix up. I'll fix that.

**The Peace Movement's Strike**

I sighed as I placed the Yeerk into my book bag. It was floating in a plastic baggie filled with water and looked rather disgusting. Today was going to be another long day, I decided. The house was unusually quiet, I observed, as I walked into the kitchen. I found a note from my aunt, telling me that she had gone to the store and hoped that I would have a good day. I sighed. I missed California so much, except the occasional earthquake, but other than that, I missed it so much.

Jessica came in, dressed in a large man's shirt. She smiled at me, as I reached into the cupboard to grab a protein bar. "Good morning, Tia."

"'Morning, Jess," I responded, glancing at the clock. "Oh, crap, I'm gonna be late!" I ran as fast as I could and tripped over my own feet. Served me right for trying to run this soon after loosing a Yeerk. Speaking of Yeerks, the Yeerk in my book bag rolled out of there and onto the grass. I scooped it up and ran to the bus stop, right as the bus driver began to close the door. I yelled for him to stop and got there just in time. By the time we got to school, I had stopped panting, but my leg was bleeding from the fall. I slipped the Yeerk into my bag before heading to the Attendance Office, where the school nurse was.

After failing, yes, another test, I was very eager to get to lunch. When the bell finally rang, I shot out of there, grabbed my lunch, and sat down in the seat. A few minutes later, Alex walked over with a girl behind him. "Hey, um, can I sit here again?"

I nodded and pushed my chicken over to him.

"Listen, about yesterday, I jus—"

"—I understand. Your Yeerk friend explained it all." I reached into my bag and slid the Yeerk into his hands, under the table.

"Thanks," he said, blushing.

I nodded, "And I'd love to."

"He told you about that…I'll have to thank him after I kill him." He smiled. I liked his smile; it was charming and sweet, not evil and sadistic like Tom's. "Oh, by the way, this is Amy." He pointed to the girl next to him.

She was a little on the chubby, I could tell, but she was still very pretty. She had black hair that she had put into two pony tails with pink ribbons and was wearing a trench coat. She smiled, "It's nice to meet you. Yes, Alex never seems to shut up about you." Her voice inflections changed when she said that, "By the way, I'm Caram 0083. Please, call me Cara."

"Nice to meet you. And are you a member of this little band of Peace Movement Yeerks?"

"Yes, and I wouldn't exactly call it little. We are spread out across the globe, including California."

"Wow, that's interesting."

"We have our own Yeerk Pool even, if you want to check it out."

I shrugged, "Sure, I'd love to."

After school they took me to their Yeerk Pool. It was a massive facility, housing many Yeerks. I was amazed at how many of them there were. There was a group gathered around a table, made up of Hork-Bajirs and some humans. One of them was talking, but stopped when we entered. "Hey, AlecNor, get your butt over here, you too, AmyCara. And bring your friend." They led me over to the table. On it were blue prints for a "Mega Pool" as it were. It could house even more Yeerks than the average Pool, meaning that infestation would be faster and easier. "As of now, the construction is going smoothly, but we need to stop it. Now, here is where you, Team 1, will enter, Teams 2&3, you need to enter from here and here, Team 4, enter from above. Now, we need volunteers to keep the other Yeerks busy by any means necessary. Who do we have?" Alex and Amy raised their hands almost immediately. He turned to me, "Are you in, Visser Seven?"

I blinked, "I'm not Visser Seven any more, but I don't want this to go up as much as you don't. I'll help, on one condition, I need a weapon."

He smiled, "Good, glad to see you're with us. AlecNor and AmyCara can run you through the plan."

"So much for us having a date," I commented to Alex as we walked into a room full of, what looked like, Dracon Beams of all sizes.

"Yeah, well, grab as many weapons as you want. These were all designed and modified by Cara, so we know exactly how they work. We're gonna take you out to the shooting range and debrief you there. Follow me."

I followed him to the "shooting range". It looked more like an archery range than a laser beam range, but it got the job done. After a few hours, I could aim well enough to actually hit something, while AlecNor and AmyCara gave me pointers and debriefed me.

By nightfall, we were ready to attack. AlecNor, AmyCara, and I were ready to go. We were positioned with Team 1. Once inside, someone said, "That was the easy part, now it's time to get to work." While Team 1 started to work on destroying the computers, we snuck into another room. Inside, there were discarded work uniforms, obviously left by the workers who had already left. We slipped into them and Alex took out our wigs. Let me explain, since we can't actually morph, we use wigs to hide our identities and I go without my glasses. Fortunately, being farsighted doesn't bother me. ((Lots of thanks to AllorNone!)) I grabbed my platinum blond wig and Amy grabbed her red one. Alex was lucky because he got the brown one. Amy and I looked at each other and immediately switched wigs. I looked at my nametag. "Hello, Terry," I muttered.

"Let's go," AlecNor, or should I say Bob, instructed.

We followed him into a room where a group of human and Hork-Bajir workers were. They were talking and laughing, until the alarm went off. We tensed up, until someone said, "Oh, it's been doing that all day. I'll go see what the problem is this time."

One of the Hork-Bajirs spoke up, "You may need-g_rishna_-backup."

"All right, come with me. Visser Ten would be_ very_ mad if something were to happen." The others in the group laughed and continued to talk as the two left. After a few minutes, they heard screaming.

The room filled with comments: "What's that?"—"We should go check it out."—"Are the Andalite Bandits here?"—"Stupid, _ricjmo_-Andalites," and so forth. The group started to move, so we had no choice but to open fire. We did and managed to take out a few of the Hork-Bajirs and a couple of humans, but the rest headed towards the Mega Pool. We rushed after them and tried to help out our group.

We lost a few of our owns' and barely made it out alive. The experience reminded me of why I didn't want to be involved in the war.


	17. Rules of Dating

Disclaimer: (Shoots Disclaimer.) You guys already know the drill.

AllorNone: Thanks, I really liked that line myself.

LilManiac: Thanks. I'm trying to remember to update soon…notice how fast I updated this time…Not! Sorry, I discovered the joys of Role Playing till three in the morning.

**Rules of Dating: Rule #1, Don't Date Your Boss**

It was the big night and everything had to be perfect. So, of course my emitter was messing up. Just my luck. So, after spending over an hour trying to fix it and another hour trying to pick out the best thing to wear, I was finally ready. I walked down the stairs, spotting Darex in the kitchen. He was covered in dirt, as was Lily. "Do I want to know?" I inquired.

(No, I do not believe that it is necessary to explain.) Darex responded, glancing at Lily with a stalk eye.

"Ok…I'll just assume it's an Andalite thing and get on with my life. So, what do you think?"

(While I am not an expert in the human custom of wearing artificial skin, I believe that your attire is aesthetically pleasing.) Lily told me. She was a little more up to date with these things. By a little, of course, I mean that Erika has been over almost every day with fashion magazines for almost a week. Lily's a pretty fast learner and is…getting better at wearing colors that match, if not outfits.

"Thanks. I hope Erek thinks the same thing." I strolled over to his house and rang the doorbell. "Hello, Mr. King, is Erek home?"

"Come in, he's downstairs." He responded.

I smiled, "Thank you." Heading downstairs, I was attacked by large furry creatures. Dogs, to be more specific. I pet one, remembering the great-grandfather of the dog. He was such a gentle thing…I looked up at Erek. He obviously hadn't noticed my arrival, as he was conversing with four kids his age, an Andalite, and a bird. "Strange ensemble of friends you got there, Erek."

He turned, startled. "Oh, Kat. I wasn't expecting you till eight."

"It is eight, you moron."

"Eh, I'm busy; can you go ask one of the others to give you repairs?"

"No, I can wait." I promptly dropped my hologram and causally listened to their conversation. Erek was speaking.

"They call it a Mega-Pool. They tried to set one up in Massachusetts, but some rebels took it down." My ears perked up at "Massachusetts".

"There are Andalites in Massachusetts?" I inquired, slightly worried. If Tia found out, they wouldn't be there for long.

"No, they think it was an attack by the Andalites and are officially calling them the Andalite Shock Troops. Based on the information that we have gathered, though, we have reason to believe that they are truly members of the Yeerk Peace Movement, that Cassie informed us of. There were three humans who were spotted at the attack, that the Yeerks have assumed are allies." He proceeded to bring up a holographic image of three people running. One had her head turned. It was Tiamate wearing a wig. I almost died on the spot. She looked good in a red wig.

"Erek, you can not sit there and tell me you don't recognize the girl on the left."

"Do you _mind_, Kat? I'm trying to debrief them on this."

"But, come on! Give the girl glasses and brown hair and you'll have Visser Seven!" The entire group stared at me. "Former Visser Seven, of course. By the way, who are these guys?" I finally inquired. It had been bugging me ever since I arrived.

"The Animorphs. Andalite Bandits," he corrected.

"These are the guys giving Visser Three so much trouble? Wow, I've been out of the loop for longer than I thought. Well, at least I know for sure, now, that Darex and Lily aren't the only Andalites here."

The only actual Andalite there, blinked at me. (Darex? Do you mean Darex-Isama-Uristhel?) ((Don't remember if I actually gave him a full name. If I did, feel free to tell me and I'll change it.))

"Yes." I responded, unblinkingly.

"Ax, do you know err…them?" The taller of the two guys there inquired of the Andalite.

(Yes, Prince Jake. He is my cousin, in your terms.)

"Would you like to meet them?" I asked, a little bored with the conversation.

"If you don't mind helping us, yes." The kid, Jake, responded.

"Then I'll call them." With that, I produced a cell phone and called them up, inviting them down. Within about a week, we were official members of the Animorphs.

That's when the real confusion began…

A/N: Ok, this is sad, depressing, and very short, in my humble opinion. I swear that there's going to be more fun in the next few chapters…when I get around to writing them. Well, ta ta for now. And don't forget to R/R!


	18. Rules of Dating 2

Disclaimer: (looks at pretty birds) Huh? Oh, sorry…you want a disclaimer, don't you? Well, bully for you. 'Cause you all know the drill by now, so don't bother asking.

LilManiac: You're welcome for reviewing your stories. And thanks for reviewing mine. Also, I'm a Ma'am, though if you watch too much Star Trek like I do, then Sir is just fine. Also I wanted to thank you for reviewing my Sailor Moon story!

AllOrNone: Thanks so much for checking for me.

GenesisDragon: You like it! Huzzah! I'm so happy! (Dances around like an idiot!)

And now, a thank you to my reviewers! THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS! (Glomps all reviewers!)

**Rules of Dating: Rule #2 Never date a friend's ex**

It was the big day. I couldn't believe that we had finally decided on a day and time. A week had passed between the fight and now, and I was very anxious to get the date over with. It felt weird, knowing that I was dating Amy's ex, but she didn't seem to mind. So, there I was, standing in front of my closet and yelling, because I had nothing to wear. I've been on first dates before, and dressing like a slob, especially after being off the market for so long, is not a good idea. Neither is talking to yourself out loud, I suppose, but it's kind of hard to break the habit. I glared at my clothes and screamed into a pillow again. The phone rang and Jess's voice called to me. "Tia! It's for you!"

"I'm coming!" I shouted back, running down the hall and picking up the phone.

"Hey, it's Alex. You ready for tonight."

"No, err I mean yes, I mean…I'm having a fashion crisis right now, so I'll see you tonight, at 8."

"Eight it is then. Still meeting at the mall? And call Amy, she's good with the fashion stuff."

"Thanks Aalex. And yes, the mall, in the food court." I responded, drawing out the a, indicating that I was talking to Nor. I hung up the phone and called Amy. "Hello, may I speak to Amy?" I inquired, speaking to her mother.

"Yes, just a moment. Amy!" I heard her call, followed by an explosion. "She'll be right there."

I smiled to myself. Amy was a chemist, a brilliant one at that, and Cara was a mechanical wiz. Put them together and you have a destructive force. "Hey, Amy,"

I commented, hearing a panting voice on the phone.

"H-hey, what, what do you need?" She sounded out of breath.

"I need shopping help." I responded.

"Fashion is my specialty. I'll be right over."

-----Page Break----

Two hours later, I was ready to kill Amy. I ended up purchasing five outfits, three of which were not exactly first date material. She was one of those girls who would start out by giving you one or two outfits and three hours later, she's handing you the millionth. ((A/N: It's like shopping with my parents.)) So, I ducked into a bathroom stall and changed, handing Amy the rest of the clothes. Since she had driven, she was going to take them home for me. I was actually kind of glad that Alex and I had decided to meet here. It meant that we could be ourselves more. Or, at least, that was the idea. Truth is, the prospect of dating again still was a little scary, which could be why I ended up sitting at a table, reassuring myself that the date would go fine and that I had nothing to worry about and that Alex wasn't an evil Yeerk. In fact, he wasn't going to be a Yeerk at all. It would be just me and him. That helped ebb away some of my anxiety, but not much.

"Hey," a voice behind me commented. I jumped and screamed, turning to face…Alex.

"Hey yourself," I responded, looking at him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. So…um, wanttoseeamovie?" Alex was nervous, I could tell.

"Sure," I responded, trying to soothe his nerves. Man, he was more nervous than I was. We walked over to the theater, looking at the shows. "Star Wars, no, Yaya Sisterhood, no, Fantastic Four, no…How about Batman?"

Alex turned to me. I knew he wanted to see it very badly and he knew I wasn't exactly all for it. "You sure?" he inquired.

"Yes, I'm sure. I figure I can sit through one lousy movie. But I'm not watching the Fantastic Four movie with you."

He grinned like a five-year-old at his birthday party. "Thank you!" He hugged me and took me over to the movie counter, buying the tickets…

I don't think I watched any of that movie. A bit into the first scene and we were all over each other. It moved slowly at first, but soon we were making out for most of the movie. We both walked out of there, red as tomatoes.

"Um…want to get dinner?" He inquired, looking at the ground.

"Sure…Mickey 'D's ok with you?"

"That's fine."

We sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally I broke the silence. "You, um, really know your way around a girl." I joked.

"Sorry about that. Really, I didn't mean to do that."

"It's ok, Alex. It happens. And it was really nice. Thanks," I walked around the table and kissed him again, sitting in his lap. He smiled and kissed me back. We would have probably started making out again if my common sense didn't kick in and I grabbed my salad, dragging it over to his side and my fries. I stuck a fry in his mouth. So, that's how it ended. I fed him fries and his burger and took bites of my salad. He drove me home and we kissed before I left. I went to my room and fell on my bed with a sigh and a laugh.

Jess poked her head in, "How was the date?"

"Magical."

----Page Break----

A/N: Ok, this may not be a great first date, but I've never been on one. Feel free to give me pointers if you want. Please R/R!


	19. Wedding Gowns and Wedding Planners

Disclaimer: I OWN THEM! Ok, so maybe not. But, hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

A/N: Sorry about the slow goings with updating! I'd blame it on school, but truth is that I've been really lazy. Anyway, here it is! But first, review time!

LilManiac: Thanks! I feel very special now!

GenesisDragon: Thanks, glad you thought the date went well. And thanks for the luck!

A/N: Now, onto the story!

**Wedding Dresses and Wedding Planners**

Live was going so well, but now I'm considering ritual suicide. ((Not really, but I might just jump in front of a Dracon Beam or something.)) My day was going great till yesterday. I got a call from some lawyer who said that my mom had lost her case, ((what case? She was drunk!)) and they had reviewed the will. Apparently, the house and all its contents are all mine, since I am of legal age now.

Me: Goody.

Mr. Lawyer: You will need to come to California to sign the papers in 90 days or less, or you loose the house.

Me: Ok, I'll be there.

So, naturally, I went to Aunt Martha and told her about it. And, since the rest of the women of the world are conspiring against me, it turned out that Jess was planning on getting married there. She then decided to pop the big question on me.

"Tia, dear, would you mind being one of my bride's maids?"

"Sure," answered the unsuspecting victim. Jess looked positively thrilled that I was agreeing to do it. So, naturally, we have recently landed in CA after a long plane flight and are currently residing in a hotel, where Jess is attempting to convince me to go shopping with her. I have decided that there are worse things.

Oh, she is dead. I mean it, she is DEAD! Ok, I'm over reacting. It's simply a pink dress. No big problem. Plus, it's pretty, in a way…oh, who am I kidding? It is ugly as sin! Then again, I've seen worse bride's maids' dresses. Not many, but enough. Anyway, back to the dress. It puffs out at the bottom, with a large bow on the back. The ends trail down to the ground. The top has a similar bow, with the ugliest broach I have ever seen. Still think I'm over reacting? You haven't seen it. Also, it is the oddest shade of baby pink I have ever seen.

---Page Break---

Moving on. Shopping went well, I guess, I mean besides the dress from hell. To make up for it, Jess bought me a cinnamon bun and we went to see a movie. It was a bit of a chick flick, "Bewitched", I think it was. It was cute, but not something I would generally go see. After the movie, we went to get smoothies and she talked non-stop about Dan. She is really in love with him, and I'm very happy for her. I found myself deeply missing Alex, and to a certain extent, Tom. I guess love works in weird ways, if you call what Tom and I had love. Anyway, tomorrow, I get to meet Mr. Lawyer. He has a name, I just can't remember it off the top of my head…Eh, at least I get a house out of it all. I should call Kat. I really should. But, I'm tired...

---Page Break---

Note to self: when a glowing blue guy asks you to do something, DON'T!

I have had the oddest adventure today. I went to sleep and was dreaming happily, but I had to use the bathroom, and my pleasant sleep was interrupted. I am not bitter…So, still in a stupor, I decided to watch the TV. The only thing on was commercials. My eyes were drooping and I thought I fell asleep again. In truth, I was wide awake, well, sort of. My eyes fluttered as I rubbed them, finding myself in the mall again. The only weird thing? The whole mall was frozen in time and there was this freaky blue man standing nearby. I turned to my left and saw an Andalite and a bird. The Andalite was speaking, (--will become angry if we are not returned unharmed.)

PEACE, AX. The man answered. ALL QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED. When he said this, he seemed to be looking directly at me. THE LAST PIECE HAS COME. He lifted a hand, pointing a finger at me. The Andalite and the bird turned.

A/N: WEE! Finally, I have figured out the best place to put it! Sorry, I've been working on this one for a while now…Anyway, R/R! Please?


	20. Dreams

A/N: I have given up on disclaimers, since you all know I'm not the author by now. Of, erm, Animorphs. Because, I am the author of this, of course.

Reviewers:

LilManiac: Glad you liked the new format. I'll explain why in the story.

Aizxana: Glad to have you aboard and so glad you like it!

GenesisDragon: First off, UPDATE! Please? Second, why her interactions are off will be explained in the story also.

**Dreams are Best Left to When a Person is ASLEEP!**

"Excuse me?" I had spluttered.

YOU ARE THE NEUTRAL PIECE. I HAVE COME TO YOU WITH A MISSION. ACCEPT OR DENY IT, IT IS YOUR CHOICE. The glowing blue guy said.

"Erm…what, exactly is this mission?"

YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO CORRECT WHAT IS WRONG. YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO SAVE HIM. All of the sudden, a picture of Elfangor the Yeerk Killer was in my head. My stomach fought with my mouth to empty my breakfast out onto the floor. I wasn't the only one reeling, apparently. I noticed the bird and the Andalite were reacting to the sudden image, though neither looked sick.

(Why only give us the chance?) One of them asked. The blue guy turned to the bird, who I assumed had asked the question.

YOU TWO WERE CLOSEST TO HIM. SHE IS THE NEUTRAL PIECE. WITHOUT HER, YOU WILL FAIL.

(So, we will be able to save my brother. I do not see how,) obviously the Andalite. He looked skeptically at the man.

SHE WILL GUIDE YOU.

"And if I refuse?"

THEY WILL FAIL. YOU WILL FAIL.

Something told me that I already knew what that meant. Somehow I knew that it either meant my death at Visser Three's hands that night or my enslavement for the rest of my life. I was about to agree when I realized that I was still in a nightgown. "Before we agree, you must give us something," I bargained.

WHAT DO YOU WISH?

"Each of us gets a choice of one or two items…" my voice trailed off as I glanced at the other two. They were watching me carefully and finally one of them spoke up:

(Yes, we each must receive one or two items of our choice, since we will be working without our teammates.)

CHOOSE.

I thought long and hard on it. The only way to save Elfangor and not mess up the entire night was to have to wait for the right moment and then cause Visser Three to drop him. But how? That was the dilemma.

CHOOSE. The man repeated.

I looked up from the wall I had apparently been staring at to see that the others had chosen all ready. One of them had fireworks and matches and the other had a shredder. "Um…I-I choose…two holographic emitters, one that will fool Visser Three and the other that will allow the user or users to be invisible to them." The man nodded.

--Page Break--

Lights whirled around me and I suddenly felt the cool feeling of a brick wall. "Some dream," I muttered, glancing at the other two, who were looking at me like I was crazy.

(Well, the Elimist said you're in charge, so lead the way.)

"Riight. Ok…um we need to move quickly," I hissed, looking up at the sky. The Blade Ship was approaching rapidly. "What are you going to do with those?" I questioned the boy? "Morphing, right," I thought aloud. He held the fireworks up.

"I was going to set them off to distract the Visser."

"Ok, can you and him hold off on that till a certain time?"

(What time?) The Andalite questioned, almost glaring at me.

"After Visser Three morphs and…a teenage girl approaches him, laughing. I'll move quickly, but I need you and him to set off the fireworks and use that nifty shredder of yours. Don't even ask how I know that, ok." I responded. "Just do it, or else this whole thing goes up in smoke. And don't kill or knock-out anyone, unless it's unavoidable." They both nodded, still looking at me like I had a Yeerk in my head or something. "Just wait for the fireworks," I murmured, moving off into a position I could use.

The few minutes it took for Visser Three to actually morph felt like hours. Finally, he did, picking up Elfangor as he went. I felt nauseous as he bit into the Andalite, but noticed the teenager I had spoken about earlier. As soon as the fireworks and the shredder went off, I moved. Quickly, I threw up the Elfangor hologram and activated the other hologram. Visser Three, fortunately, caught the former of the two falling objects as Elfangor, bleeding profusely, landed on me. He was heavy and it took me a few seconds to regain my bearings, but I managed to slide myself from under him. As quickly and quietly as I could, I drug the fallen body away from the approaching Taxxons. His furry body was slick with blood, but fortunately the blood helped a bit, even if it made me sick to look at it. "You need to go on a diet," I mumbled to the unconscious Andalite. In the confusion I saw my escape. The Hork-Bajir had been sent after the Andalite Bandits, or who we would soon come to know them as. One of them had gotten into a skirmish with a homeless man, which meant that he wouldn't be paying much attention if I slipped in after him. Fortunately, he didn't. Now, all I had to do was figure out how to keep Elfangor from dying, if he wasn't dead all ready.

Praying to whatever god decided to take pity on me, I knelt in front of the Andalite and looked, listened, and felt for breath, hoping that the three slits in his nose was where he breathed, mind you. From what I could tell, he wasn't breathing. So, being the intelligent person who had little to no clue how to check for his pulse, I knelt beside him and gave him mouth to mouth. It seemed to take forever, kneeling beside the Andalite, giving him mouth to mouth, and having to quietly spit out blood, hoping that the Hork-Bajir couldn't hear me. Most holograms are pretty sound proof, but I wasn't going to try and see how sound proof it was. After eons of this, the Yeerks finally gave up the search. I stole a glance over my head to watch the teen puke on Visser Three, only to be saved by an approaching Hork-Bajir with bad news. When the Vissers left, I felt myself relaxing, and slipped, landing on Elfangor's chest, when I rested my hand on the ground next to me. Apparently, that's what woke him.

He was up in a flash! And…fell back down again. I looked at him, rolling my head to the side because of the way I had fallen. "Ok…this is interesting…"

--Page Break--

You know, I sometimes wonder why I actually write these things down. Everything ends up all screwy, for one thing, because I am not that great at interacting with other humans. Like when I…totally spaced right now on my cousin. Well, time to delete this, like I do every time, just in case the Yeerks break in. Again, I do have to wonder why I write these things…

--Page Break--

A/N: Hope that answered all your questions and stuff! Also, hope you liked the latest chapter from me! Please R/R or I will hunt you down and kill you! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Err…I didn't mean it! I swear! Come back! REVIEW! Please?


	21. Explanations

HI! I'm sorry all my loyal reviewers! I've been extremely lazy, had a bout of writer's block, and have had many other problems, including an idea for a chapter that's not suppose to show up for, oh…a good while away! But, just to let you guys know, I'm not dead.

…Seriously, I'm not. Guys? Guys? Hello? Just kidding… Anyways, onto the Reviewer's section.

Reviews:

GenesisDragon: Um, I'm not sure if he did actually fall unconscious, but considering this is basically an alternate universe (in comparison to those who we know as the Animorphs), for the sake of the story he actually did. And I know how you feel about the whole high-school thing. I'm in like so many things and about to drown in "come to our college" crap, and I've still got two years left!

LilManiac:Runs away from flying green elephants: AHH! GET THEM OFF! o.O All caps…Anyway, you finally have your wish. I'm updating.

Ok, now onto the dramatic continuation!

…Ok, so maybe "dramatic" was stretching it a bit, but at least I'm writing, right?

**Explanations**

I blinked, dazed by the loss of blood. Quickly I morphed, finally stretching out my wings. The young woman who was lying on the ground pushed herself up, sitting with her two human legs bent under her in a peculiar way. Loren had always called it kneeling, but it was a human trick I had never felt the need to master. I saw her face for a few moments as a street light near us flickered to life in a last and quite fatal attempt to live. Her complexion had taken on a green color, usually associated with someone who is about to be quite ill. My assumptions were proved correct when she regurgitated, chunks of undigested human food mixed with a dark liquid that closely resembled Andalite blood landing on the ground as she "heaved".

She laughed, shaking slightly as her eyes met mine. "The fool," she murmured, "never knew what, or who, hit him.

(Do you speak of Visser Three?) I ventured.

Coughing, she raised a hand to wipe her mouth. "Visser Three? Yes, he is a fool, isn't he? Well, Andalite, I fulfilled my part." She stood, wincing at a pain in her body. Her hand flashed down to her calf—if I am remembering my human anatomy class correctly—and it came back covered in a dark liquid that stained her hand. "Damn, what am I suppose to say to Jess now? Gee, Jess, I didn't notice the large cut in my thigh."

(I believe it is a shallow cut,) I told her, attempting to provide some comfort.

Her eyes flashed to glance down at my small bird-like body. I had begun to demorph, so that I might feel the familiar appendages I had almost lost in the battle with Visser Three. "And?" she questioned, glaring at me. "Why should you care?" She took a step to move away from me and nearly slipped, as the ground had suddenly turned to mud. Rain splattered everywhere and it appeared to have been raining for quite some time now. The female and I were quite soaked in a matter of minutes.

Thunder clapped—to use an expression that most humans seem to use—and the rain seemed to freeze in mid drop. YOU HAVE ALL DONE WELL. A voice boomed. I recognized it almost instantly. A ghost-like blue figure stood in front of us. I noticed that a small bird and (AXIMILI!) I shouted, elated to see my younger brother.

He blinked, turning his head to face me with his main eyes. (ELFANGOR! Then this means that female was successful in her mission?)

"Nah, I screwed it up. That's why we're all standing here! This is why I absolutely _despise _working with Andalites!" She spun around, glaring at each one of us in turn. "Now, can I _please_ just GO! I have an extremely important dinner date at some point today and I'd rather not miss it!"

THIS IS WHY YOU ARE NUTERAL. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO LEAVE AT ANY POINT. The Elimist looked at her when he said this.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "We—" She stopped moving, mid sentence.

(Who was that female?) I questioned, looking at the Elimist.

SHE WAS THE NEUTRAL PIECE.

(I see…) It was not the answer I had expected, but it was an answer.

(Does this mean we're done, too?) A voice cut in. I believe it was from the bird. It had an air of familiarity to it.

--Page Break--

"—ell" I paused, glancing about. I was back in the hotel room, a bit grimy and dirty, but besides the cut nothing a shower couldn't fix.

I relaxed as the streaming hot water poured down my back and all over my body. It seemed to take all the stress and tension of the morning and throw it all away. After showering, I brushed my hair, pulling out clumps of it as I went. Finally, after dressing, I felt much better and decided to go and watch some TV. As I was about to sit, someone rapped on the door. Sighing audibly, I trudged over to the door and peered through the peep hole. All I could see was shadows. "Just a second," I called through the door, running back to my room where my Dracon Beam was stashed in a nearby drawer.

I opened the door and screamed…

--Page Break--

A/N: Well, I hope that was interesting enough. As it were, I was not horribly inspired when I wrote this so it might not be the best chapter, but at least it's out there. Well, please R/R!


	22. Mertil

A/N: Ok…this is about as inspired as the last chapter, but hey, it's a chapter.

Reviewers:

LilManiac: Thanks, I'm glad you thought it was cool. I am going to dedicate a chapter to you, but I'm waiting for a _good _chapter to come up to dedicate to my most loyal reviewer! So, the next chapter or two will probably be dedicated to you. : )

**Mertil**

(Would you stop _screaming_!) I shouted, hoping that the female would cease. I looked at her, all four of my eyes meeting her two. Her green eyes flashed, turning a darker shade.

"What the HELL do you want, ANDALITE!" She snapped back. Her hand hovered dangerously close to her waist.

(I am attempting to figure out why the Elimist insisted we come here.)

She stared, raising an eyebrow. "You're kidding me, right?"

(No,) Tobias added, looking at her. (We're dead serious.)

"And we just might be dead if you three don't come in." She stepped aside to allow Tobias, Elfangor, and myself inside.

"Tia, are you alright?" a woman's voice called. She sounded concerned.

"Fine, I'm fine! I just thought I saw a…spider!" She glanced to the side when she said this.

"Oh, ok. I'm going back to bed."

"You do that…" She looked back at us, inspecting us one by one. Her eyes lingered on Tobias the longest and a flicker of confusion crossed her face. She shrugged, muttering, "I don't want to know." She forced a smile on her face and looked at us. "So…have a nice flight?" she inquired, somehow talking through her teeth.

(We did not fly in,) my brother replied, the confusion evident in his voice.

"I know. I'm not stupid, Andalite." If humans were capable of releasing poison through their voices, I would half expect all of us to drop dead at that very second. Fortunately, she had no such capabilities.

(Hey, I'm sure everyone else agrees with me when I say, I don't want to be here as much as you don't want us here, but if you're going to blame someone, then blame the Elimist! This was his stupid idea!) Tobias snapped at her. She jerked, almost as if she had been slapped.

"And yet, you haven't even bothered to leave, have you?" Her voice had grown quiet, in comparison to her earlier tone.

(No, but we've found that annoying the Elimist has bad consequences,) Tobias replied.

"And? Messing with a visser often has worse consequences, I'm sure."

(Have you even met the Elimist before?)

"No, can't say I have. Unless, of course, we're talking Yeerk legends." Her eyes glinted strangely at this comment.

(The Yeerks know about the Elimist?) Tobias inquired skeptically.

"Urban legend. Basically."

(I was not aware the Yeerks knew of the Elimist. Obviously I was mistaken,) my brother added.

"Like I said: urban legend. The Yeerks believe in it about as much as they believe in the Time Matrix. Anyway, we should go somewhere, since this room is very cramped and my cousin will be getting up soon." She glanced around. "Um, can you guys morph human?"

We nodded in unison. I was mildly surprised when my brother nodded, but assumed that the Elimist had allowed him to retain the ability.

"Well?" She commented, looking at us.

(You want to watch this?) Tobias questioned skeptically. She shrugged. (Ok…)

The morphing began. The first change, I noticed, was my head. My stalk eyes shriveled up and were sucked into my head. My blue fur was sucked into my skin as well. My front legs distracted me slightly, as I lost my balance. I pitched forward, landing on the edge of the couch. My head hit it and distracted me slightly. I shook my head and continued the morph. Standing, I surveyed my completed morph, pleased with myself.

The female, however, did not appear to be as…pleased. Her eyes had grown wide and her mouth was opening and closing in a most peculiar manner. Tobias and I followed her look, our eyes resting on Elfangor. He had completed his human morph and— "Oh God, he's naked!" Tobias shouted.

This seemed to spur her into action. "Take this, and stay right here!" With that, she threw a pillow at Elfangor and darted out of the room.

"Erm…" Tobias commented, in a gesture I believe is called "filling the silence".

"It's amazing what men'll leave lying about all the time," the female muttered, walking back in with a pair of pants. As her face turned a deep shade of red, she held out the pants to Elfangor. Elfangor, who had been staring at the pillow, immediately dropped it and put on the pants. It was slightly shocking to see that he accomplished the feat quite easily; I would have to ask him about it later.

"God, I need a life," the female muttered, looking up at the ceiling.

For any Andalites who may read this, a ceiling is a structure in a human home. It is used to cover their heads from attacks and rain. Some humans will build other levels on top of their ceilings, though the purpose of this is still confusing to me.

"Thank you, miss…" Elfangor began, looking at her for a name.

"Tiamate. Or Tia, your choice."

"Miss Tiamate. I thank you once again," Elfangor replied, inclining his head.

"You're quite welcome," she replied, raising an eyebrow much like Prince Jake will when he is skeptical about something. "Now, seriously, we need to get out of here. My truck's downstairs." She walked out of the hall, smiling at a few of the other humans who had apparently taken up residence there. Her face had taken the odd reddish color again as we moved down the hall. She stopped at a wall and pressed a button, tapping her foot impatiently.

After Elfangor and I had a claustrophobic attack in the elevator, the female Tia kicked us off at the next level and told us to take the stairs. When she said this, I do not believe she expected me to slide down every one with my brother attempting to catch me. In the end we landed at the bottom of what humans call a stair well, entangled.

"Having fun?" Tiamate asked us, poking her head into the stair well.

"Yes," Elfangor responded, smiling a bit. He attempted to stand a few times before Tobias and Tiamate took pity on us and helped us to our feet.

"Now, let's get out of here, shall we. I think the manager's a Yeerk." She walked out of the building and we followed. She stopped in front of a large black vehicle humans call a truck. "Ok, who has shot gun?"

Elfangor and I looked quizzically at each other. "Shot gun?" we inquired in unison.

"I call it!" Tobias shouted, raising his hand.

"Well, get in." She opened the door and I realized that it would be a long ride…

--Page Break--

"AHHHH!" The screams of the two Andalites in the back seat was driving me up the wall.

"We haven't even left the parking lot." I sighed, clutching the wheel. If these Andalites were going to have another claustrophobic attack, I was going to kick them out right here and now.

"You nearly hit a parked car," the only other relaxed person in the car said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I muttered under my breath, throwing the car into drive.

"Do you know where it is we are going? Ing, going, g. G is a wonderful sound." It was the other Andalite, the one who wasn't Elfangor.

"I know I'm _going _to get gas. If you don't like it, get out and walk."

After a few more near fatal driving experiences, we finally arrived at our destination, the gas station. "So, where are we heading after this?" I questioned through an open window while leaning against my black truck. The three looked at each other. They looked at each other for a long time.

Finally one of them spoke. "My brother has said he does not wish to experience more war. I am only certain of two places he might stay to avoid it, however I do not think the first place will be suitable."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Where the he—" I broke off as a silver car pulled up in the gas station across from us. It was very…shiny.

"Hello? Earth calling the psycho girl who's spilling gas over herself, come in psycho girl…" I blinked, looking up at the one person I had deemed sane enough to be possibly human.

"Huh? Oh, great. This is just my day, isn't it?"

"No, definitely not." He had gotten out of the car and walked over, grabbing one of the paper towels for people who are washing their windows. "Here, you might need this."

"Thanks…"

"Tobias. And that's Ax." He pointed at the Andalite who was leaned out of the left window, gasping for air.

"Claustrophobe much?"

"I think it's a chronic Andalite thing. Not sure." He glanced around the car, where Elfangor was doing the exact same thing out the right window.

I nodded, vaguely remembering one of the few times Esplin and Kornath were in the same pool. It was also one of the few times I managed to coax more than one word out of him. "It is. Alloran told me."

Immediately both Ax and Elfangor's heads snapped 'round and they stared at me. "Alloran?" Elfangor gasped, clambering out the driver's side. "How do you know Alloran?"

"Heh, long story." I glanced at my imaginary watch and exclaimed, "Look at the time! We should really take you somewhere…anywhere…anywhere at all…Any suggestions?" I glanced at the other two. They exchanged a look between themselves and nodded.

"Elfangor, do you wish to continue to fight?" Ax, I think the kid said, questioned.

Elfangor shook his head and then stepped back, leaning against the truck. "No, little brother, I do not. I have finished my fight and done what the Elimist wanted to do."

I looked between them, confusion on my face, "You two are brothers?" They nodded at me, giving me identical looks that read, "You couldn't see the family resemblance?"

"Nice to meet you. Now, do you mind wrapping this up, I have a meeting with my lawyer at 3." I opened my door and let the seat down, so that Elfangor could get in over his brother. Tobias walked around to the other side. "So, where to?"

"Elfangor, do you know of the warrior Mertil-Iscar-Elmand? Mand. Elmand. Mmm. 'M' is a very pleasant sound."

"Yes, I have."

"Were you aware that he is a _vecol_?"

"I had heard rumors. Though it does not surprise me. Why do you ask?"

"We know him." Tobias interjected, quietly.

"I see. And do you know if he would mind company?"

"We could ask him."

"Do you know his number," I questioned, turning to them. "Because we don't have all day here, you know."

Tobias shook his head. "No, but I'm sure I can get you from here. If you don't mind following a bird."

"Sure, whatever. I've been doing weirder stuff today. Following a bird may seem…normal."

--Page Break--

A/N: Sorry about ending the chapter there, but this was reaching upwards of four pages. Which is probably the longest I've ever written, so I hope the chapter's…decent. Anyway, please read and review!


	23. Meet and Greet

Disclaimer: Do you really want to know?

Review:

LilManiac: You're so right. It is so not her day. However, I wouldn't say it's the Elimist's fault. Since, after all, I am the writer.

Well, onto the STORY!

**Meet and Greet**

I followed the bird into a neighborhood. It was a nice looking neighborhood, with its back to a forest. Not surprising, since most people seemed to be linked to a forest in one way or another.

(I'm going to go talk to him. Do you mind waiting here?) The bird inquired, landing on the roof of my truck.

"Tell him I'm going to park along the dirt road back over there," I said to…Ax? Az? The name didn't seem that important to me.

When the Andalite had relayed the information, Tobias replied, (Ok, sure. I'll let you know what he says.)

I started the truck up again and drove back to a dirt road, near the neighborhood. I'd lived in California my whole life and knew the area like the back of my hand. The dirt road was still here, the ashes of my old house still lying there off to the side of it. Looking round, I inquired, "Mind if I drop the seat?" The Andalite nodded, sliding over so I could. He seemed almost…distracted. I shrugged and put my feet on the steering wheel, leaving the car on enough to get some music and a bit of air flowing. Images drifted across my semi-conscious mind…

--Page Break--

The thermals were wonderful, I noticed, as I landed in a tree behind Mertil's house. It was quiet in the house, but to the trained eye, you could almost see the shadow of someone, or rather some thing, moving. (Mertil,) I commented, trying to keep my voice low. He jumped, slightly startled, and dropped the can of water he was gardening with. He swung round, standing in a lighter area of the greenroom, and lifted his tail.

Now Mertil is…disabled. He had his tail blade chopped off in a crash and couldn't recover it through morphing, since his body rejects the morphing cube.

He blinked up at me, (You are one of the Animorphs, correct? Tobias, I believe.)

I did a sort of "birdie bow" as Marco might have called it, were he here. (That's me. Listen, um,) I ruffled my feathers uncomfortably, looking at him, (would you mind if I asked a question?)

He blinked again, looking slightly confused. (What do you wish to ask?)

(You know Elfangor, right?)

He gave me a "duh" look. (Yes. May I ask why?)

(Uh, yeah. I was asking because Ax, err, Aximili.) I took a deep thought speech breath. (Ax,afriend,andIwantedtoknowifyouwouldhouseElfangorforusbecausehe'sbackbecauseofaweirdmishapeand…) Mertil was laughing lightly at me.

(If I have understood correctly, you wish for me to house Elfangor for you, Aximili, and a friend. I would gladly do it, for it has gotten quite lonely.)

I nodded, flustered. If I were still human, I'd probably be flushing.

(I will gladly do it, Tobias. Please invite them here.)

I nodded. (Be right back.) Spreading my wings, I took to the air. I finally found the dirt road the—woman? She looked at least eighteen, so I guess woman would apply—had parked. She was standing outside of the truck in a pair of black underwear and holding her pants in one hand. In the other she held a Dracon Beam. (What's going on?) I questioned Ax and Elfangor.

(Tiamate said she wished to "kill her pants". She mentioned fumes making her sick.) Elfangor seemed quite calm and not at all disturbed by the woman's weapon. As I watched, she shot the ends of both pants, causing the pants to burn. She let them burn for a minute, until they resembled shorts rather than pants. When they were sufficiently short, she nodded and shook them off. Then she pulled them on and turned, slipping the weapon into the shorts.

"So, what's the verdict?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

(Well, he's agreed to let Elfangor stay. He wants to speak to all of us.)

Shrugging, she leaned into the truck. "We walking or driving?"

(I believe driving would be faster,) Elfangor commented.

She climbed back into the truck and leaned out, holding onto the door. "You riding or flying?"

(I'll fly.)

"Ok, just be sure to give me some directions." She closed the door and turned to the two Andalites. After saying a few words to them, she threw the car into reverse.

I guided her to the house from my aerial view.

Mertil stood in the house, waiting patiently for us. Ax and Elfangor came in first. The woman, however, seemed to be taking her time. (Hey, Mertil,) I said in greeting, (This is Tia, the friend I mentioned.)

Mertil smiled an Andalite smile. (Welcome, Tia.) He cocked his head to the side slightly. (Have we met before?)

The woman was staring back at him, frowning. "I don't know. You seem familiar somehow…Did you ever face Visser Twelve's Blade Ship?"

He nodded. (Yes, once. Were you on it?)

"Running it, actually."

(I see; then you are Visser Twelve.)

Elfangor—my dad, I guess you could call him—had finished demorphing. He blinked his main eyes at her. (Yes, I remember now. You were the girl next to Visser Three.)

She stared at the both of them for a moment. "I was there and I was the Visser Twelve you knew. However, most people more commonly know me as Visser Seven, if they even know I still exist. I escaped a few months ago, and a high-ranker escaping is never something commonly known." Pursing her lips, she continued, "Now, if—" She stopped as her cell phone rang loudly. "—you'll excuse me; I have a nervous bride to deal with. Have a nice day."

With that, she turned and left, clambering into her car and driving away at top speed. I vaguely wondered if we would ever see her again.

--Page Break--

"Hey, Jess," I said to the phone.

"Where are you? You said you'd go to your lawyer's and then come strait to the rehearsal. Mom and I called the office, so we didn't disturb you if you were in a meeting, but they said you haven't even arrived."

I muttered a few nasty words under my breath. "Sorry, I got side tracked," I told her. "I'll meet you there."

She seemed to calm down after that, and insisted on talking about her day. Something about her seemed…off…Like in a Yeerk-like off way. But, being a complete moron, I ignored my gut. Which, in the end, landed me in a whole lot more trouble, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Anyway, I arrived at my lawyer's office only an hour late. Walking in as if I owned the place, I stared down at Ingrid, Mr. DeGroot's personal assistant. "I have an appointment with Mr. DeGroot," I told her.

"He's in his office. He was expecting you earlier, but—."

"Thanks." I cut in, stalking down the hall towards his office and burst in without even knocking. "Mr. DeGroot. How are you?" I smiled a "you know I'm your superior" smile and sat down, raising an eyebrow.

He cleared his throat. "M-miss Komathera, how nice to see you." He was perspiring, which meant he either feared me, or he feared Visser Three. I was really kind of hoping he feared me.

"Yes, yes. Let's skip the pleasantries. Now, about my house…"

"I'm sorry, Visser Seven, but the bank insists you don't have formal ownership. They claim it is still under your mother's name and since she was arrested, they now formally own it."

"I DON'T CARE!" I roared, standing up and slamming my hands down on the desk. He shrank back in fear, which told me he was still very oblivious to my new status. Either that or a very good actor. Needless to say, I was hoping for the former.

"T-they've agreed to allow you to keep the house if, ahem, if you can find a job in the next 72 hours."

"Those fools," I smirked, playing up the whole "Visser" thing. "They think they can outwit me? Ha! I shall show them. Now, subordinate, find me a job. I shall await your call."

With that, I turned and left, leaving him to sit there, mouth agape. I walked back into the reception area. Footsteps followed me. I turned to see DeGroot following me. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Komathera. I forgot to tell you that Ingrid has a few papers for you to look over and sign, once you have a job."

"Thank you," I replied. "Please keep trying to work with the bank to see if they can extend the deadline, will you?"

He blinked, obviously thrown off by my sudden mood change. "O-of course, ma'am."

"Ok, thanks so much!"

I walked out of there, leaving the lawyer to stare at me, mouth still agape.

--Page Break--

"I'm here!" I shouted, running into the wedding rehearsal. Jess smiled at me.

"Better late then never, I suppose," she teased. "Love the dress, by the way." She indicated my outfit, and I looked down, blushing furiously.

"Sorry, forgot to change."

"It's ok. Just get into position."

I nodded and stood at my place.

--Nifty Scene Change--

"You may kiss the bride." The pastor smiled as Dan and Jess kissed passionately. I smiled, forgetting for the moment that I was in a pink dress that itched like mad. Everything was perfect. Nothing could ruin this day.

--Page Break--

"Ok, we'll see you when we get back!" I smiled at Jess, waving them off as they boarded the plane.

I was elated. I had the whole house to myself for a few weeks. Just as long as no Yeerks attacked, we'd be fine.

DeGroot had, fortunately, managed to get an extension on my deadline, too, which meant he had more time to find me a good job.

After watching their plane depart, I headed home. It was getting dark as I approached the house the bank had been "kind" enough to let me use.

I guess I should have noticed that my house was too quiet…that all my lights had been turned off…the strange scuffling noises in the kitchen.

I was just too tired, though, to notice or care. I walked into my living room and yawned. A crash in my kitchen made me whirl around. I knocked into something blue and…furry. White lights danced in my eyes as I felt something hit the back of my skull. The world went black.

--Page Break--

A/N: Ooh, what next? What devious plot do I have for my poor character? Well, review and I'll update. Promise! (If only because I actually have inspiration for the next chapter…)


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